No. 1 Ravenswood squeaks past TC, 29-28
It was a night of nail biting excitement on the gridiron as the Tyler Consolidated Silver Knights took on the number one class AA team in West Virginia, the Ravenswood Red Devils at Knight Stadium. Both teams fulfilled every fans wish as the game went down to the wire before a winner was declared. Unfortunately for the Knights, the upset of the season was not to be, as Ravenswood kicked an extra point to go ahead in the last 47 seconds of the game, taking the win, 29-28.
“We went into this game expecting we could win, like we would win,” said head coach Rob Caldwell. “We were confident and ready to give them a game.”The game kicked off with a defensive battle between the two teams, and nearly four minutes ran off the clock before Ravenswood’s Cole Starcher took the football in 26 yards for the first score of the evening. The point-after kick was no good.
The Knights took little time in answering that score with one of their own as junior Isaac Graham returned the kick-off 86 yards for a home team touchdown. That score was followed by Spencer Kinnard’s extra point kick, putting Tyler Consolidated in the lead, 7-6.
It was a Jordan Smith 53 yard touchdown pass to Brody Northcraft with 6:18 remaining on the clock that next had Knight fans on their feet. Blaise Rice kicked the extra point, giving the Knights the edge, 14-6.
Before the first quarter ended, the Silver and Black would score again, this time on a Nate Taylor 11 yard run with just 1:42 left in the first stanza. Kinnard’s kick was centered through the uprights to give the Knights a comfortable 21-6 lead.
Ravenswood had other ideas though as Red Devil Starcher scored again, this time on a four yard run in the opening minute of the second quarter. The PAT failed however, still leaving the Devils trailing.
With a mere 19.5 seconds remaining before the half, Ravenswood’s Hunter kicked a 25 yard field goal to put the score at 21-15, the Knights still in the lead.
Both teams added to their scores in the third quarter: as Smith ran in a four yarder for the Silver Knights, followed by a Rice extra-point; and Luke Corley rushed in four yards for the Devils followed by a Hunter kick.
Edge of your seat excitement prevailed during the fourth quarter as the two teams battled to a draw until the clock ticked off until only 47 seconds remained in the game.
Starcher, the Red Devil quarterback, then forced his way one yard over the goal line to tie the score at 28. Hunter’s kick was good, giving the visitors the go-ahead point, and eventually the win over the Silver Knights, 29-28.
“The little things came back to hurt us in the end,” said the coach. “A dropped ball, a missed tackle, that field goal, all of them could have changed the outcome. But we gave a hundred percent and I’m really pleased with our kids effort.”
The win allowed Ravenswood to keep their unbeaten status and dropped Tyler Consolidated to 1-4.
The Knights rushed 35 times in the game to gain 149 yards on the ground and Smith completed seven of 12 passes for 128 yards for a total of 277. The Devils ran the ball 51 times for 318 yards and completed nine of 17 passes for 120 yards for a grand total of 438 in the game.
Consolidated was penalized six times for 63 yards and lost one of two fumbles. Ravenswood was penalized eight times for 80 yards and lost one of two fumbles.
Taylor led the running game for the Silver, gaining 91 yards on 22 carries. Graham carried the ball seven times for 49 yards and Smith gained nine yards on six carries.
Northcraft caught two passes in the game for 56 yards and a TD; Boone Kehrer had one catch for 17 yards; Nate Taylor caught two for 47 yards; Erik Hartley caught one for three; and Graham had one catch for five yards.
The Knights Brandon Grimes led the defensive effort with 12 tackles and three assists; Kehrer had 10 and one assist; Cody Barker had seven tackles, one assist; Kyle Jones, six tackles, two assists; Ethan Arbogast and Northcraft each had five tackles; James Jones and Corey Lowe had four tackles each in the game. Hartley pulled down an interception.
The Silver Knights have an open week this week and will play again on Oct. 9 when they travel north to play the Oak Glen Golden Bears. The Bears are 2-3 on the season and will host Weir on Friday, who is the last team on Consolidated’s schedule this year.