Riverside’s Aiden Taylor (55), Charlie Anstett (11), Kenneth Aragon (56), Exavier Pelton (66) and Markus Ngongo (64). (SEAN McKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Riverside’s Charlie Anstett (11), Aiden Taylor (55), Markus Ngongo (64), Kenneth Aragon (56) Exavier Pelton (66). (SEAN McKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Riverside lineman Exavier Pelton goes through a blocking drill during the first day of fall sports practice. (JOBY FAWCETT / STAFF PHOTO)
Riverside linebacker Charlie Anstett does a tackling drill during the first day of fall sports practice. (JOBY FAWCETT / STAFF PHOTO)
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Riverside’s Aiden Taylor (55), Charlie Anstett (11), Kenneth Aragon (56), Exavier Pelton (66) and Markus Ngongo (64). (SEAN McKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Power, strength, endurance and explosiveness. All are developed and enhanced through weight training.
Athletes at Riverside have seen the benefits of joining the school’s powerlifting team.
Charlie Anstett, Aidan Taylor, Exavier Pelton, Markus Ngongo and Kenneth Aragon dedicated themselves to pumping iron and are trained by Mohammed Ganin.
Their commitment has benefitted both programs. The Vikings have earned medals and team championships in powerlifting, and the football team is 4-0 this season, heading into this week’s Triboro Rivalry game at Old Forge on Friday at 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“I hit the speed work and log in with the powerlifting in the offseason, and it has been great,” said Riverside sophomore running back/linebacker Charlie Anstett. “I work hard to maintain my strength and my speed, because during a season, your body gets worn down. You have to be physically strong. The two sports work well together, and it has been great for all of us.”
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Powerlifters compete in three disciplines: squat, bench press and deadlift.
In March, the Vikings won the Pennsylvania Small School team championship. Two junior varsity division champions highlighted Riverside’s win.
Anstett, 5-foot-9, 175 pounds, captured the 83-kilogram weight class. He won with a 475-pound squat, a 296-pound bench press, and a 505-pound deadlift. His title highlighted a season that included being named most outstanding lifter at the Abington Heights annual powerlifting meet, and winning the State Teenage Powerlifting Meet in the 13-15-year-old, 182-pound division. He had a 405-pound squat, a 275-pound bench press and a 480-pound deadlift.
Taylor also collected championships.
He won the state title in the Junior Varsity 120-kilogram class with a 530-pound squat, a 265-pound bench press, and a 540-pound deadlift. At the State Teenage competition, he won the 13-15-year-old, 264-pound class with a 450-pound squat, 260-pound bench and 500-pound deadlift.
“I feel that powerlifting has really helped me as a nose tackle,” said Taylor, a 5-10, 255-pound sophomore. “I feel it helps me to get off the ball. My squat right now is about 545, and that really helps me get off the ball and knock that center back. Everything goes together. Our success in powerlifting is translating into success in football.
“Overall, powerlifting has allowed me to succeed more than if I wasn’t on the powerlifting team.”
Also at Abington Heights, Pelton won the 231-pound class with a bench press of 275 pounds and a deadlift of 470 pounds. He finished third at the state championships in the Junior Varsity division with a 415-pound squat, 255-pound bench press and a 480-pound deadlift.
“Mohammad really has helped me,” said Pelton, a 6-2, 260-pound junior two-way lineman. “I always lifted when I was younger, but he really showed me the benefits of powerlifting. Deadlifts, squats and bench presses are things that you need to be a stronger athlete.
“This year, I have really seen a difference. I am a lot faster. It is easier to get off blocks.”
Ngogno, who got a later start than the rest because he played basketball, placed third in the 264.5-pound weight class with a squat of 405 pounds, a bench press of 235, and a deadlift of 450 pounds for a 1,090 total at the state championships.
“I started in late March; Mohammed had me there every day,” said Ngogno, a 6-foot, 245-pound junior. “I started to see the lifting transition into football when we were doing drills in the summer. I got off the ball faster. I was strong, and I was able to move guys off the ball.”
Aragon placed seventh in the 231-pound class with a three-lift total of 885 pounds.
“I have gotten a lot stronger in all my lifts, and I see it at practice and in games,” said Aragon, a 6-foot, 245-pound sophomore. “It has made me realize that I have to be strong to match up and work through the physicality of football.”
The success and strength transferred to the football field. The athletes have gained muscle, and Ganin’s workouts also emphasize agility, mobility and flexibility.
“It really is about their self-drive,” Ganin said. “Their No. 1 sport is football, and the No. 2 is with the powerlifting team. The two sports go together. They see the results. I have been working overtime with them, building their strength and explosiveness. It is not just pushing the plates. It is about speed, and we do stretches and explosive workouts. I have also been telling them it’s also about their diets and watching what they eat.
“You can see the kids being actively committed, and their parents should be very proud of what they are achieving and how they are developing.”
Anstett is a bruising runner. He has 193 yards rushing and three touchdowns and has caught eight passes for 127 yards and a score. Defensively, he has 12 tackles with two for loss.
Taylor, Pelton, Ngongo and Aragon anchor the offensive and defensive lines. They are all physically imposing, with Taylor racking up 14 tackles with four for loss at nose guard, Ngongo contributing 11 tackles with a team-high four sacks and six tackles for loss, and Aragon totaling two tackles.
“It’s been tremendous for us in the area of what football is all about: Being strong up front at the point of attack on both sides of the ball,” Riverside first-year head coach Jim Tucker said. “This powerlifting program has paid so many dividends for us. We have a young group up front, and we are going to have them all back.
“You need the strength and the power to run fast and cut laterally. A hidden gem is the mental toughness. It is a grueling sport. You have to be mentally strong to go in after a max lift, so that part has also helped us in football.”
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Riverside has seen the benefits of the hours spent in the weight room.
The Vikings are undefeated with wins over Susquehanna, Holy Cross, Lake-Lehman, and Lackawanna Trail. They also have one of the state’s best all-around athletes in quarterback Brayden Rose, who has 444 rushing yards, seven touchdowns, and 220 passing yards.
Riverside is averaging 295.5 total yards, and the defense has limited opponents to 23 points.
The season is headed into the second half, and the Vikings are poised to challenge for the titles in the Lackawanna Football Conference Division II and District 2 Class 2A.
The players know the strength they built will carry them through the next six weeks of the regular season and beyond.
“We are all coming together as a team,” Anstett said. “It has been a great year so far, and we are looking to get better as the year goes on. We have bonded together as one, and it is exciting to see.”