By ANDREW SKWARA
For Brentwood Home Page
MURFREESBORO – Ravenwood has suffered some ugly losses this year, but nothing quite like this.

Dominated from the opening kickoff, Ravenwood fell behind 28-0 at the half and went on to fall 49-0 to Oakland (6-2) on the road Friday night. That pushes the Raptors' losing streak to four straight and drops their record to 2-5.

While its defense surrendered a season-high seven touchdowns, Ravenwood's offense was even worse, never managing to drive inside the opponent's 30-yard line.

The score may have been more lopsided if not for a running clock put in place for most of the second half after the Raptors fell behind 35-0 (state rules mandate a running clock for any 35-point deficit).

Ravenwood's starting quarterback Andrew Radford was also knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury in the second quarter and did not return. Radford's status for the next game against district rival Centennial (3-4) at home on Thursday is uncertain. 

“Yes, they are a better team than us, but we didn't play up to our capabilities and that saddens me,” Raptors Coach Joe Rietveld said. “The coaching staff made mistakes but so did the players. We are all accountable.”

An emotional Rietveld huddled up his team near midfield after the game and delivered a fiery 10-minute speech.

 “I looked everyone in the eye and asked, 'Are you in, or are you out?'” he said. “They are going to hear all about how bad they are this week, but we still believe in them. I would go into a dark alley with each and every one of my players. But we have got to start taking that football across the goal line. I take this personal and they are taking food off my table.”

Rietveld tinkered with his "Pistol" offense by putting two running backs in the backfield as opposed to the usual one, but the Raptors still struggled to convert first downs or generate big plays. They finished with 128 total yards and were shut out for the second time in four games (Brentwood beat Ravenwood 41-0 on Sept. 16).

One of Ravenwood's lone bright spots was the play of backup quarterback Harrison Johnson. Inserted for the injured Radford, who was hurt while running the ball, with Ravenwood trailing 21-0, Johnson completed his first three passes and run for a first down himself on a fourth-and-1.

“Harrison did a nice job in a tough situation. He ran the team effectively,” Rietveld said.

That got the ball down to the Oakland 34-yard line, but that's as far as the Raptors ever got. A sack of Johnson on fourth down forced a turnover on downs in the final minute of the second quarter.

On the next play, Oakland receiver Eddie Locklayer got past the Ravenwood secondary and caught a bomb from Jahaad Lyons for a 54-yard touchdown that put the Patriots up 28-0 with 4.4 seconds before halftime.

Oakland, surprisingly, then went for and recovered an onside kick. That set up another Lyons bomb, but it fell incomplete as time expired on the first half.

After giving up a touchdown on the game's opening drive, Ravenwood's defense forced a three-and-out on the Patriots' second possession. But a punt was then fumbled away at the Ravenwood 30, which led to Oakland's second touchdown and a 14-0 advantage.

Oakland scored twice in the third quarter on a 1-yard plunge from Fredarious Wade and a 73-yard catch-and-run from receiver Clinton Tuck and added another score in the fourth on Daryle Hood Jr.'s 24-yard scamper.

Ravenwood        0              0              0            0       --     0
Oakland              7              21           14           7       --   49

OAK – Chesterfield 1 run (Vansenus kick)
OAK – Chesterfield 1 run (Vansenus kick)
OAK – Gaines 24 pass from Lyons (Vansenus kick)
OAK – Locklayer 54 pass from Lyons (Vansenus kick)
OAK – Wade 1 run (Vansenus kick)
OAK – Tuck 73 pass from Stacy (Vansenus kick)
OAK – Hood 24 yd run (Vansenus kick

                                       Ravenwood                        Oakland
First Downs                        6                                           18|
Rushes/Yards                    17/58                                  29/180
Comp/Att/Int                    12/21/0                               11/16/0
Pass Yards                           70                                        221
Total Yards                          128                                       401
Fumbles-Lost                      2-2                                          1-0
Penalties-Yards                 6-40                                         0-0
Sacks                                     1                                              2

Ravenwood Individual Stats

Passing: Harrison Johnson 7 for 15, 43 yards; Andrew Radford 5 for 16, 34 yards

Rushing: Harrison Johnson 6-29; Omar Joseph 2-15; Ryan Butler 2-12; Clay Cameron 3-6; Ander Radford  1-1; Jake Cameron 3-3

Receiving: Tevin Hill 3-29; Ryan Butler 3-16; Mitch River 2-18; Jake Cameron 2-8; Jaylen McGriff 1-1; Cameron Carter 1-5

Tackling Leaders: Vincent Swann 3, Hunter Dickerson 3, Max Chandler 3

Punting: Michael Giangreco 7-38.7 average