There may not be a more evenly matched rivalry in all of Portage County high school football than the one between the Ravenna Ravens and Kent Roosevelt. In a defensive dual, the Ravens blinked first and lost 14-7 last Friday night at Roosevelt Stadium in Kent.
“The guys were hurt at the end because it is that rivalry and I saw that they were upset about it and rightfully so, but I told them we are going to lift our heads up and we are going to live to fight another day,” said Coach Brian Coman.
Entering the 109th face-off, the Ravens (0-1, 0-0) held a slight edge in the rivalry, owning a 54-52-2 record against Kent Roosevelt but its four-year winning streak was snapped last season. After a second straight victory, the Rough Riders are now just one win away from evening up the record.
“It is so evenly matched,” Coman said. “Ravenna is still up one game, but this game has been even a long time.”
Deadlocked in a 7-7 stalemate, Kent Roosevelt engineered a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter, capped off by a quarterback sneak by junior quarterback Yahntae Smith on a one-yard touchdown run on fourth down, propelling the Rough Riders ahead 14-7.
The Ravens had several chances to counter with a game-tying drive, but their offense remained stuck in neutral throughout the game.
“It was a combination of both,” acknowledged Coman. “They shut down our run game a little bit and when we went to pass, we had some protection problems.”
According to Coman, Ravenna’s offensive line struggled against the Rough Riders’ defensive line and were also hindered by penalties.
“We had a quite a few penalties,” noted Coman. “Kent Roosevelt did a good job and won the game, but we are not a team right now that can shoot ourselves in the foot and then try to go out and win a game.”
Ravenna’s final chance came when it got the ball back with 1:23 remaining at its own 20 but could not find any consistency and ultimately turned the ball over on downs.
Although the Ravens could not come up with the game-tying drive, Coman said his team showed a lot of toughness.
“I am proud of the kids,” he noted. “A lot of the kids ended up cramping and were tired, but they left it on the field, and we fought for 48 minutes. It was not one of those games where you see teams when they get down and give up. It was the Kent Roosevelt-Ravenna game. It was a backyard brawl, and they were going to fight to the end. They want the bragging rights, so they fought for 48 minutes.”
Although the Ravens only scored seven points in their opening game of the season, Coman said his team did a lot of good things on defense.
“We were doing a good job, stopping the things that they wanted to do,” he added. “The score tells a lot. It was 14-7. I know our stats and I think we were pretty good on defense.”
Ravenna was the first to strike, breaking the scoreless tie in the second quarter when senior wide receiver/defensive back Bryant Thompson intercepted Smith, giving the Ravens their best field position of the game.
“I am glad to see that he is finally learning how to play the free safety position and not bite,” Coman said of the 5-foot-11 Thompson’s interception. He was waiting on the quarterback to make his decision before he made his break and we have been working on that all summer long. Bryant was on it this time, he just stayed back and waited and made his break and I was proud of him.”
The Ravens capitalized on the takeaway, capped off by junior quarterback C.J. Ross hitting Thompson for a 20-yard touchdown reception on a fourth down conversion, pushing Ravenna ahead 7-0.
Kent Roosevelt returned the favor on the ensuing possession, with junior tailback/defensive back Ke’Shan Talbert scoring on a one-yard touchdown run, knotting the game at 7-7.
After the teams traded touchdown drives, it became a defensive dual but once the Rough Riders broke the tie in the final quarter, that sealed the game.
Although Ravenna came up short, Coman was encouraged by a lot of things.
“Defensively our guys are on the same page, coverage-wise,” he said. “Bryant made that interception, but we had some other coverages that we watched on film that Kent was hitting on other teams and they did not hit on us.”
The Ravens will welcome Portage County rival Mogadore to Portage Community Bank Stadium for their home opener on Friday at 7 p.m.
