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Jul. 22—Since John Ritter took over Decatur's football program in 2024, the Red Raiders have been in rebuilding mode.
When Ritter accepted the job, he was the program's third coach in as many years following the retirement of longtime coach Jere Adcock after the 2022 season and one season under Aairon Savage in 2023 in which the Red Raiders finished 3-7. He inherited a team that was filled with mostly freshmen and sophomores while playing in one of the toughest regions. As a result, the last two seasons have been filled with plenty of growing pains as the Red Raiders have finished 2-8 each year.
The old cliche though is "third time's the charm" and Ritter said he feels his team is ready.
"We look different; we've had a great offseason. We've practiced different, so there's a lot of things lining up for us to be better," Ritter said. "It really feels like it's all starting to come together."
It's not the first time Ritter has been tasked with turning around a program. In 2015 he inherited a West Morgan team that had two wins in the previous three seasons and in 2018 he took over a Russellville program that was coming off its worst season in 20 years. At both stops, Ritter led his team to 10 wins in his third season.
Ritter said the key to finding success at each of those stops came when his teams learned how to overcome adversity. He believes Decatur is no different.
"When you go somewhere new you can change them physically in the weight room and our kids have been working extremely hard," Ritter said. "The mental side is always the last to come and we're showing flashes of being mentally tougher, of being resilient. In this region, everybody is good, so the teams that are successful are the ones that hold each other accountable and don't let one play snowball an entire game."
"Even though we finished with the same record, I thought we were significantly better last year than in year one. There was just always a moment in the game where it got away from us and we couldn't stop it," Ritter added. "The key to year three is how do we respond to a missed tackle, a drop or a turnover? We have to learn how to handle failure and I feel like our guys are starting to figure that out."
So what has Ritter feeling good about his 2026 squad? Two words: experience and seniors.
The underclassmen Decatur started two years ago are now battle-hardened veterans as the Red Raiders return 15 starters, including 11 seniors. Those returning starters include quarterback Reid Roberson; running backs Isaiah Allen and Devin Haley, both three-year starters; four offensive linemen; and seven defensive starters.
"Being year three in a system, having guys that have played, having guys that are seniors should all be a big help. We're playing more older kids this year than the last two years combined," Ritter said. "You can practice a lot of things, but you can't practice experience."
What kind of season Decatur has could be determined as early as game one on Aug. 21 when the Red Raiders travel to Buckhorn. After two narrow losses to open the season against the Bucks the last two years, a week-one win this year could go a long way in building momentum for the season.
"Every coach says every game is the most important, but the Buckhorn game really is for us because it's a confidence builder," Ritter said. "Buckhorn is a good team, and I think if we could get that win, it would really show our kids the fruits of their labor. Let them see that this is what happens when it all comes together."
— [email protected] or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2
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When Ritter accepted the job, he was the program's third coach in as many years following the retirement of longtime coach Jere Adcock after the 2022 season and one season under Aairon Savage in 2023 in which the Red Raiders finished 3-7. He inherited a team that was filled with mostly freshmen and sophomores while playing in one of the toughest regions. As a result, the last two seasons have been filled with plenty of growing pains as the Red Raiders have finished 2-8 each year.
The old cliche though is "third time's the charm" and Ritter said he feels his team is ready.
"We look different; we've had a great offseason. We've practiced different, so there's a lot of things lining up for us to be better," Ritter said. "It really feels like it's all starting to come together."
It's not the first time Ritter has been tasked with turning around a program. In 2015 he inherited a West Morgan team that had two wins in the previous three seasons and in 2018 he took over a Russellville program that was coming off its worst season in 20 years. At both stops, Ritter led his team to 10 wins in his third season.
Ritter said the key to finding success at each of those stops came when his teams learned how to overcome adversity. He believes Decatur is no different.
"When you go somewhere new you can change them physically in the weight room and our kids have been working extremely hard," Ritter said. "The mental side is always the last to come and we're showing flashes of being mentally tougher, of being resilient. In this region, everybody is good, so the teams that are successful are the ones that hold each other accountable and don't let one play snowball an entire game."
"Even though we finished with the same record, I thought we were significantly better last year than in year one. There was just always a moment in the game where it got away from us and we couldn't stop it," Ritter added. "The key to year three is how do we respond to a missed tackle, a drop or a turnover? We have to learn how to handle failure and I feel like our guys are starting to figure that out."
So what has Ritter feeling good about his 2026 squad? Two words: experience and seniors.
The underclassmen Decatur started two years ago are now battle-hardened veterans as the Red Raiders return 15 starters, including 11 seniors. Those returning starters include quarterback Reid Roberson; running backs Isaiah Allen and Devin Haley, both three-year starters; four offensive linemen; and seven defensive starters.
"Being year three in a system, having guys that have played, having guys that are seniors should all be a big help. We're playing more older kids this year than the last two years combined," Ritter said. "You can practice a lot of things, but you can't practice experience."
What kind of season Decatur has could be determined as early as game one on Aug. 21 when the Red Raiders travel to Buckhorn. After two narrow losses to open the season against the Bucks the last two years, a week-one win this year could go a long way in building momentum for the season.
"Every coach says every game is the most important, but the Buckhorn game really is for us because it's a confidence builder," Ritter said. "Buckhorn is a good team, and I think if we could get that win, it would really show our kids the fruits of their labor. Let them see that this is what happens when it all comes together."
— [email protected] or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2
Continue reading...
