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Kent Roosevelt senior quarterback TraVon Chapman threw for 270 yards and ran for another 101 as the Rough Riders sewed up a PTC Metro championship with a 42-35 victory over Ravenna.
RAVENNA, Ohio – Not only did it take until the final game of the season for the Portage Trail Conference Metro Division football title to be decided, it came right down to the last minute of the game, as Kent Roosevelt wrested away the championship from Ravenna in a thrilling 42-35 victory. The result, more than likely, is that both teams will have earned a spot in next week's regional quarterfinals.
“We knew we could (win the PTC). I’m just so glad we can call ourselves PTC champs,” wide receiver Rich Graves said.
Graves, a senior two-way standout, had his fingerprints all over this victory. The receiver tied the game twice in the third quarter at 14-14 and 21-21 on six- and 47-yard touchdown receptions from junior quarterback TraVon Chapman, but his biggest contribution came on defense.
After the Rough Riders (9-1, 7-0) tied the game again at 28-28 on a 30-yard Chapman pass to senior receiver Trei Thomas on a third-and-27, Graves abruptly ended the Ravens (8-2, 6-1) next possession. With less than eight minutes remaining in the game, Graves cut in front of a pass from Ravenna quarterback Brandon Holt and raced 27 yards to give Kent Roosevelt their first lead at 35-28.
“Usually I play corner, but we knew they would run some inside routes so they moved me to safety,” Graves said. “I just followed (Holt’s) eyes and broke on the ball. Then it was just a race with (D.J. Jones) to the end zone.”
It was Graves’ second interception of the game and the third takeaway overall for the Rough Riders.
The Ravens were far from done though, taking over at their own 30-yard line with 7:12 left after the kickoff. Ravenna quickly marched down the field with a steady diet of Holt and star running back Jones and Holt capped the drive with a seven-yard score to tie the game 35-35 with less than five minutes remaining.
Kent Roosevelt took over on its own 34-yard line with 4:54 left, which proved to be plenty of time for Chapman, who was simply on fire in the second half. The dual threat quarterback completed 14-of-16 passes in the final two quarters for 196 yards and three passing touchdowns to close out the game. Chapman also ran for 67 yards in the second half. With 1:59 left on the clock, Chapman plunged into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown to put the Rough Riders up for good.
“(Chapman) was outstanding in the second half. He can really play,” Kent Roosevelt coach John Nemec said.
The biggest play on the drive however came from senior running back Shakeel Howard, who took a pitch on fourth-and-two from the Ravenna seven-yard line and found six yards to set up Chapman’s score.
It appeared as though the Ravens might have had some last-minute magic left in front of their hometown crowd as Holt completed four of five passes to move Ravenna down to the Kent Roosevelt 11-yard line with 25 seconds left. But, the Rough Rider defense held with good coverage and pressure, forcing Holt to close the game on three incompletions into the end zone – the last of which came as time ran out.
“We knew we had to get the stop,” Graves said. “We didn’t want it to be like last time here when we went to over time and lost (29-28).”
There would be no overtime on Friday night, and with the Kent Roosevelt victory, both teams more than likely will continue their seasons into the regional quarterfinals. Kent Roosevelt was ranked eighth in Div. II, Region 5, while Ravenna was listed at No. 4 in Div. III, Region 9.
The game featured some big numbers on both sides, as Graves finished the night with eight catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns to go along with two picks and another touchdown. Chapman finished 19-of-26 for 270 yards with three touchdowns and had 101 rushing yards and a score.
Ravenna’s biggest night came from senior running back D.J. Jones – as it has all season. Jones gained 231 yards on 29 rushes and had the Ravens first four touchdowns. Jones also caught two passes for 42 yards – both on the game’s final possession.
In other PTC matchups:
GARRETTSVILLE GARFIELD 54, WINDHAM 6. At Windham, it was all Garrettsville (6-4, 4-3) as the G-Men scored eight consecutive touchdowns before giving one up as time expired in the fourth quarter.
G-Men running back Bob Bright scored two touchdowns on 10 carries and 129 yards. Andrew Yarnell also scored two touchdowns on seven carries for 40 yards. The G-Men amassed 221 rushing yards and got 119 in the air from quarterback Sebastian Neikirk, who went 7-for-13.
Matt Knight was the top rusher for Windham (0-10, 0-7), with 84 yards on 19 carries.
FIELD 25, SPRINGFIELD 0. At Akron, Field senior running back Patrick Boggs logged 248 yards on 35 carries and had two touchdowns to bring the Falcons season record to an even .500 (5-5, 4-4). Senior quarterback Jake Kruse went 5-for-12 for 177 yards and had two touchdown passes to senior wide receiver Kody Lowden in the season’s final PTC match with the Spartans (2-8, 2-5).