By Brendan Samuels
LocalSportsJournal.com

HART – Three weeks ago when Hart football achieved their fifth win of the year, Coach Joe Tanis had his eyes on the season finale with Ravenna, the penultimate game to complete what he called a “Respect Tour.”

That moment came on Friday when the Pirates demolished Ravenna in a 44-0 win that featured near perfection in all three phases of the game for Hart.

“We are not on any kind of revenge tour, but we are on a respect tour,” Tanis said after the Pirates defeated Mason County Central in Week 6. “We feel like we’re coming every week to earn respect and that’s our goal. We want people to say, hey, we’re playing the Pirates and they know exactly what they’re going to get. They’re going to get a tough, physical game with a team that’s not going to quit and continue to respond. To bury us is going to be very difficult and that’s what we want to be.”

In 2022, Hart was in the conversation for a possible playoff berth with a trip to Ravenna’s home field the only thing standing in the way. Unfortunately for the Pirates, they were shut out 48-0 in a game that left a bad taste in the team’s mouth.

While Tanis doesn’t harbor any ill will toward the Bulldogs, getting back at them was definitely on Hart’s short list of things to do for 2023. 

“We felt pretty good going into the game,” Tanis said. “Last year, we went down there (Ravenna) and didn’t play very well and they just took it to us. We were able to sit and think about that one for a whole year and we remember that fourth quarter of that game very well. We were ready.”

Things couldn’t have gone any better for Hart on Friday. On the opening kick, Hart’s Ivan Lara sent a squib kick toward the sideline. Ravenna struggled to gain control of the ball, leading to a recovery from Conner Edwards that set Hart’s offense up at the Bulldogs’ 29.

By the time the halfway point of the first quarter had arrived, Hart had taken both of their two opening possessions into the end zone for points. Senior workhorse Joseluis Andaverde was the one who crossed the goal line on both of those attempts, running in from 5 yards and 12 yards out to put his team up 12-0 early.

Andaverde made his presence felt on defense in the first quarter as well. After putting his team on top with that pair of touchdowns, Andaverde came off the edge of Hart’s defense to plant Ravenna quarterback Dylan May in his own end zone for a safety.

With the ball in their hand after the free kick, Hart drove down the field and added more points on a 15-yard run from Edwards. On the ensuing kickoff, Edwards recovered an onside kick to give the ball right back to Hart.

Ravenna struggled mightily in the first quarter on offense. May was forced to chase bad snaps that went over his head on a handful of occasions. That set the Bulldogs up in plenty of long yardage situations that they couldn’t recover from.

The Pirates faltered a bit to end the first and into the second quarter, fumbling the ball twice and losing possession on each of those. Still, the defense stood tall allowing them to take a 22-0 lead into the break.

Coming out of halftime, the domination continued for Hart. Andaverde scored twice more to bring his total to four on the night and Joaquin Flores snagged an interception from his linebacker position. Midway through the third quarter, a running clock was in full effect.

The final 12 minutes of the game was a defensive showcase for Hart. Edwards blasted up the middle for a 33-yard rushing touchdown to start off the final frame. That allowed the Pirates to put the game on ice with two interceptions from Adrian Lara and Payden Stone.

A bit of respect is sweet for Hart in the win over Ravenna, but the bigger prize was making their playoff dreams a reality. The win over the Bulldogs put the Pirates into the playoffs for the first time in school history.

Even sweeter, Hart earned the right to host that inaugural playoff game by virtue of Montague’s loss to Oakridge.

“This is what you dream of,” Tanis said with tears in his eyes. “You come to this job and people say ‘you can’t win’ and you kind of want to do it. Our players and coaching staff have done a phenomenal job.”

The Pirates (8-1 overall, 5-1 WMC Rivers) will await their next opponent when matchups are announced on Sunday. Until then, a new season begins for Hart.

“This is three years’ worth of work,” Tanis said. “We had two great senior groups before these guys who put in a ton of work and kind of set the foundation for these guys. These guys have just picked up the torch and ran with it. It’s been so much fun to see.”

Ravenna finished their year at 3-6 overall with a 3-3 WMC Rivers record.

Photos by Brendan Samuels