Countdown to football: Riverdale

2025 Record: 3-7 (2-6 BVC)Head Coach: Jon Wells, second year (3-7)KEY GAME: Sept. 19, at home, with Van Buren. Riverdale has gotten off to good starts the past few years – 2-1 in 2024, 3-1 in 2023, 4-1 in 2022 – but has not finished above .500 since going 6-4 in 2019. The Falcons face a huge challenge in Week four with a road game at Liberty-Benton. How they rebound from that game in their Week five matchup with Van Buren could go a long way in determining their standing the rest of the way.INTERESTING FACT: When Jon Wells was named Riverdale's head coach last year, he was the Falcons' sixth new head coach in eight years. To call him a "new" coach, though, would be taking things to loosely. Wells was an assistant in the program or junior high head coach for 25 seasons. He was the offensive coordinator on Riverdale's 2008 playoff team and in 2023 led the junior high team to an 8-0 record. His very roots are grounded in the school, where he was a football, basketball and track standout in the late 1980s. Wells still owns two school football records his players might shoot for, longest touchdown run from scrimmage (97 yards) and longest punt (80 yards).MAGIC NUMBERS: 4, 7 and 45. Despite being a rather young team overall and with a first-year head coach, Riverdale put up some positive numbers more commonly attributed to more experienced teams.The Falcons fumbled just four times – tied for the fewest in the BVC. They also were fourth-best in interceptions thrown (7) and third in fewest penalties (45, 317 yards). 2025 SCHEDULEDate Opponent Home/AwayAug. 22 Ridgemont H 29 Arlington* ASept. 5 Arcadia* H 12 Liberty-Benton* A 19 Van Buren* H 26 Leipsic* AOct. 3 Ada* A 10 Elmwood* A 17 McComb* H 24 Pandora-Gilboa* H*Blanchard Valley Conference games