Ravenscroft football
Ravenscroft head football coach Ned Gonet (center, with hat) believes his Ravens made great strides in their final scrimmage last week. The Ravens host Northern Vance Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Ravens maturing with every snap
Ravenscroft head football coach Ned Gonet expected his young Ravens would take their lumps in their first scrimmage against South Granville last week.
"South Granville is a good team — very physical. And they sort of exploited some of our weaknesses that we knew we had," the coach explained.
With only two days to prepare for their next scrimmage, the Ravenscroft Jamboree, the Ravens didn't have a lot of time to recover. But the coaching staff shifted around some personnel, tinkered with schemes and sent the squad back out.
And the young Ravens — after initially looking overwhelmed — began to show what they are capable of.
"Within the framework of that scrimmage, we were able to mature a little bit," Gonet said. "We struggled early, particularly on defense. But as the scrimmage went on, I saw our confidence develop a little bit.
"The kids weren't making the same mistakes, and they corrected some things and showed a little more poise and patience."
With a tough season opener against Northern Vance Friday at 7:30 p.m., Ravenscroft will need to continue to grow to avoid stumbling out of the blocks.
Fortunately, Northern Vance appears to be in a similar situation entering the 2009 season. After both squads posted impressive records last fall — Northern Vance advanced to within two games of the 3AA state finals — the Vikings and Ravens enter this fall without several key members from 2008.
"I think we are both confronted with the same thing this year," Gonet said. "We had good runs, and we both graduated a good amount of kids."
While Vikings might be ushering in new starters, Northern Vance always seems to put together a competitive team, the coach added.
"The challenges we have with them is their athleticism and their speed of the game," Gonet said. "We're going to have to combat that.
"They are a very impressive looking team. And they compliment their athletes with lineman who play hard."
With so many changes in both programs, Ravenscroft's 39-21 victory over the Vikings last fall doesn't give an accurate look at what might happen Friday.
One of the Ravens' new starters is sophomore quarterback Quinn Billerman, who has never taken a varsity snap.
But Billerman has displayed a good understanding of the offense, and the Ravens aren't looking for him to carry the load.
"He has been progressing well," Gonet said. "We're happy to see his maturation, but that was something that started back in May and June."
The quarterback's improvement has calmed the coaching staff's anxieties, but Gonet pointed out, "He does well executing and putting us in a position to do well. Of course, that gets harder when we start seeing live bullets Friday."
While Billerman learns on the job, senior Alex Spears and junior Connor Gonet, selected captains by their teammates, will provide the leadership.
"I thought the team did a good job picking people who lead on the field, in the lockerroom and in the classroom," Gonet said. "They have shown good work ethic, a passion for the game, and they have a good football IQ. But I could say that about a lot of our guys, too."
Spears and Gonet will play both offense and defense this season.
With a new signal caller, and several new starters, the Ravens will likely play conservatively Friday.
"We must do the little things well," Gonet said. "We can't make mistakes because they will take advantage of them."
But if the Ravens can show the same maturation Friday as they did last week, Ravenscroft might be done taking their lumps this season.
Read about Ravenscroft's opening game this weekend on NorthRaleighSports.com.
