Ravenscroft football
Ravenscroft falls in home finale
Many seniors dream of playing their last home game in grandiose style. They hope to beat their rivals, give the home crowd a performance worth cheering for and make a handful of lasting memories. But, alas, the Ravenscroft football team's fairy tale ending wasn't meant to be Friday night, falling to Charlotte Christian 21-14.
While the Ravens' defense shined, limiting the Knights' opportunities, Ravenscroft's offense sputtered early and often.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Ravenscroft defense continued to flex its muscle early in the second. With the Knights driving, senior linebacker Alex Spears refused to give up any ground, and stuffed a pair of runs, keeping points off of the board.
But the Ravens couldn't put together anything offensively, and the ball went back into Charlotte Christian's hands.
On the Knights' next possession, QB Jake Watson's pass was tipped, but a Charlotte receiver came down with the ball and torched the secondary for a 65-yard touchdown.
It was just that kind of night for the Ravens.
They started their next possession with a holding penalty, followed that up with a dropped handoff, incomplete pass and finally, a punt.
Later Watson completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Josh Orsino in the corner of the end zone, putting the Knights up 14-0 at the half.
“The defense did a good job of shutting them down,” said Ravenscroft head coach Ned Gonet. “But we need to resurrect our offense.”
During the break, Gonet told his team to "step up the tempo" and "play with confidence."
The intermission pep-talk seemed to work as the Ravens finally got the offense rolling, leaning on reliable junior back Connor Gonet to get the attack firing.
With Gonet and the offensive line pounding the Knights, the passing game started to open up for sophomore QB Quinn Billerman.
Following Billerman's 15-yard laser to senior Shane Bird — that sent one official ducking for cover — Gonet sealed the Ravens' third-quarter drive with a 5-yard rush into the end zone. With Storm Baker's PAT, the Ravens trailed 14-7.
With momentum in their favor, the Ravens maintained their defensive ferocity, and finally got a break.
As the defensive line swarmed Watson, the Knights quarterback was intercepted by sophomore Jake Morin with three minutes remaining in the third.
The Knights lent a helping hand with a personal foul which continued a Ravenscroft drive at the start of the fourth quarter.
Billerman then found junior Dan Lang for a 19-yard strike, which the receiver hammered into the end zone. Baker booted the extra point, tying the game at 14-14.
After the Ravens forced the Knights’ offense off of the field, Ravenscroft muffed the ensuing punt giving the ball back.
But Hartland Jones promptly righted the Ravens' error, intercepting a pass on the very next play.
However, Ravenscroft couldn't capitalize on the interception, and dropped a would-be touchdown pass.
On their next offensive possession, Ravenscroft caught another unlucky break when a Billerman pass was tipped and picked off
Charlotte Christian marched down and senior David Durham followed his blockers into the end zone with just seconds remaining in the contest, clinching the victory.
“We had opportunities but didn’t execute,” said Coach Gonet simply.
Connor Gonet finished the game with 104 rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. The junior also hauled in four catches for 23 yards.
Billerman completed nine for 20 passes for a total of 78 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Bird recorded two receptions for 34 yards, and Lang had two catches for 21.
In its regular-season finale, Ravenscroft travels to Harrells Academy Friday, Oct. 23. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
