The Big “R” trophy will once again stay in Kent, as the Ravenna Ravens’ football team made its final stand in the Metro Athletic Conference. The Ravens were plagued by turnovers, losing to Portage County and league rival Kent Roosevelt 28-14 last Friday evening at Roosevelt Stadium in Kent.
“You can’t turn the ball over and win the game,” said Coach Brian Coman. “You can’t turn the ball over and think that you are going to win the game especially when you are playing a good team. Kent Roosevelt is a good team.”
It marked the Ravens’ (4-6, 3-4) fourth consecutive loss to their neighborhood rival, as the annual rivalry record now sits in Kent Roosevelt’s favor, 55-54-3 since their first meeting in 1911.
It may have been the first time since the Portage Trail Conference disbanded that the rivals played each other as conference rivals, but the rivalry still runs deep.
“These communities are so close together,” said the third-year coach. “I know kids that played here and lived in Ravenna at one time and kids that lived in Kent and play in Ravenna now. You have cousins playing cousins and sometimes it is brothers playing brothers in this game, so it is a rivalry for a reason because everybody knows each other.”
On Friday, it was a defensive battle through the first three quarters with Ravenna’s offense dictating things as they engineered several long and methodical drives.
Although the Ravens dominated the time of possession, they trailed 7-6 because turnovers consistently stalled out promising drives.
Ravenna delivered its longest drive of the game in the third quarter with a 14-play, 84-yard drive capped off by senior quarterback/linebacker Mark Miller throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to junior quarterback/defensive back Ethan McKamey, pushing the Ravens ahead 14-6 after completing a two-point conversion.
According to Coman, using long drives to keep the Rough Riders’ defense on the field was Ravenna’s blueprint for success entering the game.
Near the end of the third quarter, Ravenna appeared on the verge of putting the game out of reach as it forced another three-and-out and started at its 44. A 15-yard run by the 5-foot-9 McKamey seemed like the spark the Ravens needed, but their momentum was erased as they committed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the end of play, putting them right back where they started.
Coman acknowledged that the penalty stalled Ravenna’s drive, and it punted the ball back to the Rough Riders at their 13.
Having not scored since its opening drive, Kent Roosevelt’s offense awakened, delivering an eight-play, 87-yard drive capped off when junior quarterback/linebacker Kingston Bryant threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver/defensive back Chace Dennison, tying the score at 14-14.
The tide continued turning against Ravenna, as Dennison intercepted Miller at Ravenna’s 35, and Kent Roosevelt needed only two plays to take the lead as Bryant connected with senior wide receiver/defensive back Sevyn Jones for a 30-yard touchdown pass, giving the Rough Riders a 21-14 advantage.
The Ravens’ offense could not muster a response, as it turned the ball over on downs after a botched punt, putting Kent Roosevelt in striking distance at Ravenna’s 24, and the Rough Riders added another touchdown, this time on a two-yard touchdown run by junior tailback/linebacker Mekhi Jones, pushing the lead to 28-14.
Ravenna committed five turnovers in the game, halting any offensive momentum.
“It was disheartening because our kids were playing hard. The whole game they played hard but like I said, you can’t turn the ball over and beat a good team,” said Coman.
It closed the chapter on Ravenna’s time in the MAC, compiling an 18-30 league record in seven seasons with only one winning campaign. The Ravens’ next conference football game will take place in the newly formed Greater Portage Athletic Conference, a revival of the Portage Trail Conference.
Although Ravenna will not play another league game against the Rough Riders, the battle for The Big “R” Trophy will still be on the schedule as a non-league game.
Coman added that while Ravenna finished with its’ fifth consecutive losing season, the squad tied for its most victories in his three years as head coach and is optimistic Ravenna can use that improvement to perform better in the GPAC.
“We are going to turn the page on this season not tonight, but we are going to turn the page on this season and will get back in the weight room and try hard and come out next year and let the cards lay on the table where they are,” said Coman.
