Ravenscroft football
FILE PHOTO
Hartland Jones hauled in a 74-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter of the Ravenscroft football team's 28-7 victory over Harrells Christian Academy last week. The victory
Ravens' early scoring spree fuels win
Ravenscroft clinches league title with victory
As Ravenscroft head coach Ned Gonet explained, it was no coincidence quarterback Quinn Billerman launched 74- and 75-yard touchdown passes — almost back-to-back — in the first quarter in a 28-7 victory over Harrells Christian Academy Friday.
The coaching staff and the sophomore signal-caller were just following the Ravens' game plan.
"Harrells is a very good football team, and they are very diligent with what they do," Gonet said, alluding Crusaders' stout running attack. "Their whole game is about clock management. They are tough to play against, especially if you get behind. So we knew we'd have to get some quick scores, and we were able to do that and establish ourselves in the first half."
As result, the Ravens looked long on their first pass attempt, and Billerman nailed Hartland Jones 30 yards downfield, and the wide receiver raced another 40-plus for a touchdown.
After the Ravenscroft defense forced a turnover on downs, Billerman hit Shane Bird on the Ravens' second possession and the senior raced 75 yards. With successful PATs by Storm Baker, the Ravens led 14-0, and never looked back. And the victory gave Ravenscroft the Big East Conference title.
"The two long passes were very similar," Gonet said. "Both were about 30 yards downfield, well-thrown balls, and we were trying to stretch the defense vertically."
While the end results were the same, the coach explained the players were for different receivers on different routes, but both were thrown to the same spot.
"We designed a couple different routes this week, and we probably exposed their pass defense a little bit," he said.
With the passing game firing on all cylinders, Ravenscroft started to add a heavy dose of its running game, especially fullback Connor Gonet.
Following the Crusaders' lone touchdown in the second quarter, the junior dashed in for two scores, a 1-yard TD-dive and a 30-yard TD-scamper.
"Because we got our passing game going early, we were able to mix in our running game," the coach explained.
Gonet finished with 19 rushes for 130 yards, and added four catches for 67.
After combining for five first-half scores, both squads fell silent in the second half, neither team mounting a scoring drive.
Although the Ravens allowed Harrells to tally 327 yards on the ground, the defense halted the Crusaders once in the red zone. (Harrells garnered just 29 yards through the air.)
"They had some success here and there, and we bent a little bit, but never really broke," Gonet said. "In all, they probably ran 60 plays Friday, but only passed the ball four or five times. It was tough for them to come back because of the style of football they play."
Entering the contest, Harrells (8-2) was averaging nearly 40 point per game, and had never scored below 24 points in its nine previous contests.
Billerman finished 11 for 14 for 277 yards and two touchdowns. Bird hauled in four catches for 121 yards and Jones added three receptions for 89.
On defense, Alex Spear and Jake Morin recorded 10 tackles apiece.
Gonet lauded his squad for repeating as conference champions, and recalled after the team's jamboree, which featured its conference opponents, he knew the Ravens had a difficult road.
"It was clear to us we were going to have some challenges," he said. "But we grew a lot through the year, and we got better. It means a lot to win the conference again."
With the league title in hand, the Ravens (7-4) turn their attention to Friday's first-round NCISAA Division I Football tournament game, hosting Providence Day (3-7).
Coincidentally, Ravenscroft played Providence Day in last year's first round, pulling out a 14-13 victory. The one difference is the Ravens host this year's rematch.
"They are a very formidable opponent even though their record isn't real flashy," Gonet said. "They play a strong schedule, they have played some good teams, and their record was indicative of it. They are big, strong and they have some athletes."
The Ravens' coach went as far as to call the Chargers' Josh Covington "one of the best running backs in the state."
Although they didn't play each other this season, Ravenscroft and Providence Day had two common opponents as both faced Charlotte Christian and Charlotte Country Day. The Ravens and Chargers lost both games, which doesn't reveal much about either team.
With his squad winning four of its last five, Gonet likes the momentum his Ravens have, but stresses his players must remember what led to their success.
"We have to reflect on what we have done, and remind ourselves what we have to do to be successful," he said. "We have to keep a consistent tempo and confidence, especially now that we are in the playoffs.
"It's just one game, if you don't get it done, there are no more games. We'll have a battle on our hands Friday."
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
