By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com
SCOTTVILLE — Ravenna trailed by a touchdown late in the third quarter, and then mounted a furious rally to score 12 straight unanswered points for a hard-earned 19-14 win over Mason County Central’s football team Friday night in Scottville in the West Michigan Conference-Rivers.
The Bulldogs went up 7-0 early in the first quarter, only to see the Spartans come back to gain an 8-7 lead at the half and then build a 14-7 edge with 2:47 left in the third period.
Even worse, the Bulldogs’ senior quarterback Hunter Hogan had gone down with an arm injury in the first quarter and didn’t return until after the Spartans scored their second TD.
“It was a tough one,” Ravenna head coach Justin Ego said. “We preach all the time that we’re not a one-man show, that we’re a team.
“When (Hogan) went down, I think we lost a little bit of our swagger, our confidence. That’s something that we preach. We can’t have that happen.
“A win’s a win. I’ll take that, learn from it and grow. It’s just something that I hope in the future we can fix.”
Photo courtesy of LSJ photographer Greg Gielczyk
Hogan could only watch from the sidelines as the Bulldogs struggled on offense with junior Blake Homoly taking his place under center, despite his inexperience calling plays.
“I felt bad because I knew that a lot of it (problems) was because of me, because we haven’t been getting a lot of reps with the second team and the second string quarterback,” said Hogan after the game.
“On defense, we don’t really have a free safety to be a backup for me, so it’s definitely hard to fill my spot. I guess we don’t want that to happen, so I was feeling a little nervous.”
While the Bulldogs were treading water, Hogan was limbering up his arm on the sidelines, jogging to stay loose and aching to get back on the field.
The Spartans ate up most of the third quarter, marching down inside the Ravenna red zone before stalling out on fourth down with an incomplete pass.
But they got the ball right back when the Bulldog punter had to tuck the ball in and run for it, failing to make the yardage on fourth down and the Spartans had the ball at the Bulldog 10.
Senior quarterback Will Chye hit Landon Smith for a 15-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 14-7.
Photo courtesy of LSJ photographer Greg Gielczyk
“Really, I think we should have won the game,” Spartans head coach Scott Briggs said. “We just didn’t capitalize on some earlier opportunities, and it came back and bit us in the end.
“We’ve done this in the past. It’s growing pains. It’s a young team that we’re playing with, and it’s just a matter of continuing to get better. The team is starting to understand football. It’s going to take awhile.
“I think tonight we took some steps forward. I think we’re moving in the right direction. But, still frustrating. Coaches and players alike are frustrated with this one. It stings, because you know you had it.”
The Bulldogs struck back quickly, scoring just one minute later when Hogan hooked up with Nathan Kooiman on a touchdown pass to cut the Spartan lead to just one point, 14-13 at the 1:24 mark of the third.
Ravenna got the game-winner with 8:02 remaining in the fourth quarter when Hogan saw Chase Thomas flashing down the left sideline and hit him with a 45-yard bomb. The two-point conversion failed.
“I just dropped back and they were coming,” commented Hogan later. “They stood right in my face. Chase Thomas … I know he can go up and get that ball, so I had to throw it deep to him.”
The Bulldogs took a 7-0 lead with 11:44 left in the first quarter when Nathan Kooiman turned a screen pass from Homoly into an 85-yard touchdown pass and Derek Finlay added the point after.
But the Spartans answered with a 10-yard run by Peyton Merz and quarterback Will Chye ran in the two-point conversion as Mason County took the lead, 8-7.
Chye then threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Landon Smith in the second quarter to extend the Spartans lead to 14-7 with only 2:47 left in the third quarter.
Ravenna came back, however, one minute later when Hogan scored on a 51-yard run. The PAT kick was blocked, bringing the Bulldogs within one, 14-13 at the 1:24 mark.
Photo courtesy of LSJ photographer Greg Gielczyk
Homoly completed 3-of-3 passes for 85 yards and Hogan went 3-for-5 for 45 yards. Hogan also had 71 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Finley led the Bulldogs defense with nine tackles, three for loss. Caleb Forsythe had five tackles and two interceptions, Clay Schullo had six tackles and a sack. Hogan also had an interception.
Derek Mabrito had eight tackles and 1.5 for loss. Brayden Fry had seven tackles and Juan Castro eight stops.
Chye was 6-of-14 passing for 77 yards for the Spartans. Merz led the rushing attack with 78 yards on 13 attempts while Kaiden Cole picked up 49 on 16 totes.
Ravenna improved its record to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the WMC-Rivers. The Bulldogs host Hesperia on Friday, Sept. 30
Mason County Central fell to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the WMC-Rivers. The Spartans host Hart on Friday, Sept. 30.
