The Ravenwood High School Raptors blanked the Cane Ridge High School Ravens 42-0 Friday night in Brentwood in the first round of the TSSAA 6A playoffs to remain undefeated on the season.
The win marked the second victory over Cane Ridge this season for the Raptors. Ravenwood (11-0) defeated the Ravens 48-0 in their first matchup this season. This time, the Raptors scored five touchdowns in the first half and the defense held Cane Ridge (2-9) to just three first downs in the game. Raptors head coach Will Hester praised the way his team came out in the first half and executed.
“Any time you are playing a team for a second time is difficult,” Hester said. “We went out there and I think played pretty well… I think they are a mature group and understand what’s at stake. They’re playing about as well as they played all year.”
The Raptors jumped all over the Ravens on Friday night. The Raptors scored early and often, leading 35-0 at halftime.
After going up 7-0 on its first drive and forcing a three-and-out on defense, Ravenwood scored on a 24-yard run by junior quarterback Maverick Chance.
After forcing another three-and-out, the Ravens got a gift when the Raptors fumbled a punt and gave them the ball at the Ravenwood 22-yard line. Cane Ridge got the ball down to the 4-yard line on its drive, but two pass breakups by 6A Mr. Football finalist Donovan Starr stymied the Ravens drive.
“The defense stepped up,” Hester said. “They got one ball down there on fourth down and got inside the 5. I thought our defense did a great job of bowing their backs. They played great red zone defense all season long. Kudos to those guys; coach Hoyer has done a great job of preparing or defense all season.”
Ravenwood answered with a 31-yard touchdown by Caden Pace, his second touchdown of the game, and another 25-yard touchdown run by Chance on its next two possessions.
Later, Cane Ridge fumbled a snap on fourth down as it attempted to punt and gave the ball to the Raptors at the 10-yard line. Quarterback Femi Babalola found Patrick Sullivan on a 10-yard touchdown pass to close out the scoring with 2:08 left to play in the half, which meant a running clock the rest of the way and an early end to the night for Ravenwood's starters.
Third-string quarterback Gavin Hampton and Jaeden Morris combined on a 1-yard pop pass with 3:30 left to play in the third quarter to give the game its final score and move the Raptors to the second round of the playoffs.
The Raptors will host again next week as they look to continue their undefeated season and move toward a state championship. A rematch with the Franklin High School Admirals, who they defeated 28-7 in the regular season, awaits them. Franklin defeated Antioch on Friday for its first playoff victory since the 2020 season.
Hester knows it will be a tough rematch against the up-and-coming Admirals.
“It looks like we’re going to be playing Franklin again; Franklin is a great football team,” Hester said. “We had a battle with them just a few weeks ago, and we are going to have to bring our best effort if we are going to come out victorious in that one.”
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