Published 8:30 pm Thursday, March 15, 2018
PORT NECHES — Preston Riggs is not all about offense. His statistics are just impressive.
“My midfielders — every time I get the ball, it’s up to me, but sometimes they need to keep it for themselves,” Riggs said. “They’re the main reason I get to score all these goals.”
This is the same Riggs who starred on the football field as a receiver and earned 5A all-state honors by the Associated Press (honorable mention) and Texas Sports Writers Association (third team). The Reservation’s football field also is the same soccer pitch where Riggs gives goaltenders nightmares.
Where his talents take him after this senior season — and which talents he chooses — remain to be seen.
“It’s a tough decision, football or soccer,” said Riggs, who hasn’t received any offers for either sport. “That’s where I’m stuck at right now.”
Soccer is his favorite. He’s played the game since he was 5.
It may not be long before soccer coaches take note of Riggs’ 38 goals and seven assists on the season. That’s seven more in the net and five more dishes than he totaled a year ago.
But Indians coach Chad Luttrull also takes great stock in Riggs’ defensive ability.
“It’s relentless work,” Luttrull said. “We expect our front line to pressure. In the formation we run sometimes, our outside forwards have to come back and track their outside backs. Preston does it really well.”
That method, in turn, helps Riggs to get some of his scoring opportunities. And it’s played a part in 10 shutouts this year for the Indians (15-7-1, 9-4 in 22-5A), the defending district champions who are one match behind Lumberton with a road game at Livingston on Tuesday remaining. A loss could drop the Indians to third, one spot behind upstart Port Arthur Memorial.
“I’ve got to give these guys here a break because they’ve been working their butts in the backfield,” Riggs said of his fellow defenders. “If the outside back comes up, I have to press him so to make it easier on defense.”
During PNG’s 11-2 football season last fall, Riggs’ big-play ability resulted in 1,403 yards and 19 touchdowns on 72 catches. The same speed he used to beat defenses goes on display when he leads an attack full of playmakers in Indian soccer.
Among them is freshman Jason Lovejoy. The leading assist man in District 22-5A stands one away from matching the school record of 29. Riggs needs three goals to set another PNG mark.
In the four seasons Riggs has started on the varsity soccer team, Luttrull notices the the growth he’s seen in his standout forward, and it doesn’t just come on the offensive end.
“We all talk about how good Preston is becoming in his interviews and how much he’s grown over the last four years playing soccer,” Luttrull said. “For the last three years, I’m telling him, ‘You have to cover that guy, you have to track him and do this and that.’ Against Lumberton (a shootout win on March 6) and for most of the year, I don’t have to tell that to Preston. He does that.”
