By ANDREW SKWARA For Brentwood Home Page In a game full of big plays, Ravenwood simply couldn't keep up with Franklin.
Thanks to four touchdowns that covered a combined 240 yards, Franklin erased an early 7-0 deficit and came away with a 34-10 win on the Raptors' home field in what were the first chilly conditions of the Middle Tennessee season Friday night.
It was the third straight loss for Ravenwood (2-4, 1-2 District 11-AAA), a team that has been outscored 96-17 during that stretch. Franklin moved to 5-2 and 3-0 in the district.
“The naysayers are going to start pointing fingers and we all know who they are going to blame,” said Ravenwood first-year coach Joe Rietveld. “It's going to be a tough test .. But we will move forward. Our team has been dealing with issues off the field and I'm really proud of how they have rallied together in a
Raptors Head Coach Joe Reitveld shares post-game thoughts
tough life situation this week.”
Ravenwood's only touchdown of the game, during which temperatures dropped to the low 50s, came from its defense on the opening drive. Franklin running back Colton Black bobbled a fourth-down pitch and defensive back Brandon Jordan picked up the ball in stride and raced 63 yards untouched across the goal line with 8:45 left in the first quarter.
The Raptors' other score came on a 30-yard field goal from Thomas Dawson, which tied the game at 10-10 early in the second quarter.
Black later answered on a 3rd-and-1 by bursting free out of traffic and down the left sideline for an improbable 66-yard touchdown run that put the explosive Rebels up 17-10 before the half.
In the second half, Franklin's strong-armed quarterback Matt Kulvinen connected with Riley Manion for touchdown strikes of 55 and 86 yards.
Kulvinen finished with 330 passing yards and Black gained 134 on the ground while the Ravenwood offense continues to struggle, finishing with a total of 174 yards.
“The problem is our offense. We are just not doing anything to help the defense or our special teams. We just aren't doing our part,” said Rietveld. “I don't think it's lack of effort on anybody's part, but we just aren't blocking when need to, catching when we need to or not calling the right plays when we need to. But, we are going to stick together and do best job we can.”
Despite giving up a rash of long scores, Rietveld was complimentary of his defense. The Raptors collected four sacks, including two from defensive end Cam Brown, and stopped Kulvinen on a quarterback sneak on a fourth-and-short in their own territory in the third quarter.
“The defense has done a pretty good job all year,” he said. “They gave up a few big plays, but they were facing a pretty good football team and they have a quarterback with a cannon for an arm. All in all, the defense did a good job.”
With Ravenwood trailing 27-10 midway through the fourth quarter, its defense forced a three-and-out. Following a short punt, the offense took over at the 50-yard line, but back-to-back sacks of quarterback Andrew Radford led to a turnover on downs.
On the ensuing possession, Kulvinen fired a perfect bomb to Manion, who burned the secondary for a 55-yard scoring strike which sealed the outcome.
Earlier in the fourth quarter, Dawson missed a 33- yard field goal.
Franklin kicker Hunter Pearce hit a 22-yard field goal and Black scored on a 34-yard run in the first quarter to put the Rebels up 10-7.
With their next game coming on the road to a 4-2 Oakland team next Friday, Ravenwood will focus on fixing its ailing offense.
“We're going to try some different people and see if personnel is part of the problem or if it's schematic,” Rietveld said. “We're going to keep our base stuff, but we will try some wrinkles and try and get something done.”
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