LR trips never get old for Colts’ coach

“They’re excited about it, and we’re excited about it. You can’t take these chances for granted.” Rivercrest Coach Johnny Fleming

Johnny Fleming was a fixture within the Rivercrest athletic program long before he took over as the team’s football coach in 2018.

But moments like the one he’ll be involved in today doesn’t get old for him.

The Colts will try to bring home their first state title since 2017 when they face Shiloh Christian in the Class 4A final at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium.

And Fleming knows just how big of a deal a trip to the capital city in mid-December is — not just for the school but for the entire community.

“People around here would go crazy,” Fleming said when asked about how exciting it would be if the Colts were able to beat the Saints. “We’re actually four small towns … a consolidated school with four little towns that are spread out around us. Every single town is excited. And we’re hoping to have a lot of people there at War Memorial Stadium [today].”

Fleming has worn a number of different hats throughout his 32 years at the school. He’s been a basketball and baseball coach, and has been involved with the track and field team.

He was an assistant coach on the Rivercrest staff during its last championship march when the Colts dominated Junction City 48-14 to win the Class 3A crown in front of nearly 4,000 fans. But when then-coach Kelly Chandler announced his retirement in early 2018 after serving as the team’s coach since 2006 and winning 66% percent of his games, Fleming assumed controls and has maintained that winning formula.

In his first season, Fleming guided Rivercrest to an 11-2 mark and a 3-4A Conference title. In 2019, the Colts went 7- 4 and advanced to the first round of the playoffs. Now in his third season, Fleming has spearheaded a Colts’ run not rivaled by many in their class.

Rivercrest has won all 13 of its games this season by at least 17 points. During the postseason, the Colts have beaten all four opponents by an average of nearly 28 points.

Fleming, however, said he isn’t expecting an easy time against Shiloh Christian.

“Shiloh is as good as anybody in the state,” he said. “Watched them on film, and they do things extremely well. They’ve got a good quarterback that can run as fast as anybody that we have, got a good back that’s as good as anybody, and the linemen are well- coached. It’s going to be a challenge.”

But as Fleming has seen during his tenure at Rivercrest, the Colts won’t shy away from what issues the Saints will present. Rather, he said he believes his team will respond accordingly, particularly with the school’s fourth state title at stake.

“We have guys that want to feed our team every single day just about,” Fleming said about the enthusiasm surrounding the game. “Former players coming back wishing us luck. I’ve got people calling me all the time, people that went to school here that are way off now.

“They’re excited about it, and we’re excited about it. You can’t take these chances for granted.”