By CARSON FANT
For Brentwood Home Page
Smyrna outscored Ravenwood 33-0 in the first and third quarters to put the Raptors in too big of a hole to dig out of. The Bulldogs headed back to Rutherford County with a 36-7 road victory.

The opening kickoff was a sign of things to come as Smyrna recovered a pooch kick at the Raptors’ 32-yard line. Four plays later Lorenzo Williams ran in from one yard out to give the Bulldogs a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“We should not make that mistake,” Ravenwood head coach Joseph Rietveld said of the opening kickoff.

On the ensuing possession Ravenwood (2-7) moved the ball near midfield before losing the ball on a fumble. Smyrna scored on the second play of its second possession when quarterback Joe Shelton hit PJ Whittaker with a bubble screen. Whittaker took the ball 53 yards down his team’s sideline.

Ravenwood gave up 20 points in the first nine minutes of the third quarter for a 36-0 Smyrna lead. (Photos by Jodi Rall for BHP)

Ravenwood tightened up defensively the rest of the half, stopping the Bulldogs on four of their next five possessions and only allowing a field goal the rest of the half.

“To our kids’ credit, we rebounded and we played hard,” Rietveld said.

Though not scoring in the first half, the Raptors were able to find success in their rushing game.

“We tried a special combo this weekend with our three running backs,” RHS senior running back Omar Joseph said. “We did what we had to do. We ran the rock.”

Joseph led the Raptors with 49 yards rushing and 5.4 yards per carry. Fellow senior Syrus Jenkins and junior Ryan Butler proved capable in the backfield too, along with quarterback John Overton.

In addition to the running backs, Rietveld praised the offensive line.

“Our offensive line probably played one of their better games tonight than they had all season,” Rietveld said.

Going into the second half, Ravenwood was very much in the game, trailing 16-0. However 20 points from the Bulldogs in the first nine minutes of the third quarter put the game away.

Smyrna scored on the opening possession of the second half when Williams rushed in from 10 yards out.

Raptors senior running back Omar Joseph tries to find running room.

Ravenwood was forced to punt on their ensuing possession. Whittaker fielded the punt off a bounce and race 70 yards for his second touchdown of the night.

On Ravenwood’s next possession Overton was hit in the backfield, fumbling the ball. Tray Malone scooped up the loose ball and rushed 48 yards for the touchdown.

“We didn’t get any breaks, but we didn’t make any breaks either,” Rietveld said. “[I’m] still proud of our kids. I’m happy with the way they competed and, you know, I wouldn’t trade them for anybody.”

The Raptors scored in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard rush by Joseph.

Friday’s game was Senior Night for the Raptors. The large class has had its share of difficulties, Rietveld said, but still persevered. The Class of 2012 has had three head coaches in their four seasons at the school, plus another coaching change in the offseason.

“They’re a good group,” Rietveld said. “They’ve been good leaders on and off the field.”

Ravenwood will travel to play district leader Independence next Friday night to end the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm.