Ravenwood's ground game grinds out rivalry victory over Brentwood

Raptors win Battle of the Woods for first time since 2017

BRENTWOOD – Ravenwood head coach Will Hester took great care handling the Battle of the Woods rivalry trophy Friday evening.

After all, his Raptors had to take great care just to get the trophy back in their possession.

Thanks to a turnover-free outing, Ravenwood secured a 21-16 victory at James C. Parker Stadium in the yearly meeting of the Brentwood schools.

An effective ground game, split three ways between Chris Parson, Carter Pace and Kartuah Chapman, helped the Raptors (4-1 overall, 2-0 Region 7-6A) average more than six yards per carry, keeping the offense moving most of the evening. Pace finished with a team-high 87 yards, while Chapman added 81 and Parson chipped in 37 more. Parson threw for a touchdown and ran for another, with his rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter proving to be the eventual game-winner.

“Chris played great, he’s been getting better and better every week,” Hester said. “No balls were in jeopardy of being turned over and I thought that was huge in the game. I thought both teams played a pretty clean game. It was a great high school football game, just like I thought it would be.”

After their loss at MBA to begin the season, the Raptors have now won four consecutive games, but Friday was strictly a business trip for the Raptors into a Brentwood team desperate for some positive momentum.

“Kudos to Brentwood – they’re a hard-fighting team,” Parson said. “We just wanted to come out here and play Ravenwood football. We didn’t want to get the big head. We just wanted to stay level-headed and do what we do best.”

The Bruins’ defense may have provided them some of that needed momentum, but their downfield passing game is still lacking, according to Brentwood head coach Clint Finch.

“We need to find a deep threat and push the ball downfield,” Finch said. “That’s something we’re lacking right now.”

Ravenwood’s defense had to withstand the physical running of Scott Collins but managed to not give up big chunks of yardage in the contest. Collins finished with 105 rushing yards on 26 attempts.

“Defense got some key stops,” Parson said. “They helped us out a lot. I’m just proud of all my teammates. Coaches had a good game plan coming out tonight and we just wanted to come out here and execute.”

JT Smitherman collected the game’s only turnover, an interception of a Davis White pass late in the third quarter that kept the Raptors’ lead at 14-10 at the time.

Hester said, “To know that you can be put in adverse situations and know that you can come through and make a play when you’ve got to, I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”

Parson’s rushing touchdown early in the fourth put Ravenwood up 21-10 before White and Aaron Walton responded late to keep some hope for a rally alive.

“It means a lot for these kids, but most importantly it’s 2-0 in the league,” Hester said. “It’s another step toward trying to make the playoffs, and that’s our ultimate goal.”

RAVENWOOD 21, BRENTWOOD 16

Ravenwood (4-1, 2-0), Brentwood (1-4, 0-2)	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Ravenwood	7	7	0	7	21
Brentwood	7	0	3	6	16

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter

R – Blake Irvin 8 pass from Chris Parson, 8:44. Alec Delperdang kick.

B – Scott Collins 3 run, 2:54. Aiden Parker kick.

2nd Quarter

R – Carter Pace 10 run, 11:18. Delperdang kick.

3rd Quarter

B – Parker 30 field goal, 5:06.

4th Quarter

R – Parson 5 run, 8:42. Delperdang kick.

B – Aaron Walton 8 pass from Davis White, 3:54. Run failed.

	RAVENWOOD	BRENTWOOD
First downs	12	26
Rushes-yards	32-206	34-123
Pass completions-attempts-interceptions	13-20-0	21-30-1
Passing yards	134	169
Punts-average	2-49	2-30.5
Fumbles-lost	0-0	0-0
Penalties	5-60	4-40