The regular season may not have gone the way the Cloverdale Clovers had wanted, as they finished the regular season 2-7, but now starts the season that matters -- the sectional tournament. 

Cloverdale will open the Class A, Sectional 47 tournament against Riverton Parke. 

The winner will play the winner of Parke Heritage and Covenant Christian. 
For Cloverdale, the Clovers enter the postseason off a 53-14 loss against Owen Valley, where they played the Patriots close in the first quarter before depth and mistakes became an issue. 

"The end of the first quarter, we were up 14-13 and the boys were playing well. The offense was moving the ball, defense was giving them good shot. We had some really bad turnovers that killed us. They pounded the rock at us and wore us down. Silly mistakes killed us. We have to get out of our own way," Cloverdale coach Tyler Lotz said. 

The Clovers will have a new signal caller under center as Tre Henderson has gotten the call at quarterback, while Tayt Jackson has moved out to wide receiver, a position he started his football career at. 

"Our offense is the same, we just switched Tre and Tayt. Tre has to be locked in every play. I told him get in there and watch film this week and know this defense inside and out and you'll recognize things and do a much better job," Lotz said. 

Cloverdale has not won a game in the sectional tournament since 2012, when it knocked off Riverton Parke, 44-22, but Lotz believes his team has a chance against a team that will be of similar size. 

"Riverton Parke, size wise, is similar to us, but we know they are going to throw out some different stuff and it'll be difficult to do what we want sometimes," Lotz said. 

The keys are simple -- protect the football and stay out of their own way, according to Lotz. 

"We've gotten better and more physical. It will come down to taking care of the ball and getting out of our way. Now it's go home or advance. It's going to come down to the seniors and upperclassmen who want to keep playing football, how are they going to commit during fall break and approach this game? I am excited to see what they can do. It is a good way for our seniors to get another chance at home. If they want to keep playing at home, we have to win," Lotz said. 

The Panthers enter with a 4-5 record and have won three straight, including last week's 20-6 contest against Covington. 

Get the most recent Putnam County Post headlines delivered to your email. Go to putnamcountypost.com and click on the free daily email signup link at the top of the page.