Destin Wade's big rushing night helps Summit breeze past Ravenwood

Five different Spartans score, Destin Wade runs for 264 yards as Summit moves closer to Region 7-6A title

SPRING HILL – With 6:08 left in the first half, Summit had to do something they hadn’t had to do for the first 18 minutes of their region showdown with Ravenwood…punt.

But the loss of possession didn’t faze the Spartans as middle linebacker Jacob Turner tipped a Chris Parson pass that Keaton Wade intercepted. The change in momentum, and a big rushing performance from Destin Wade, were enough to take care of the visiting Raptors 49-28 on Friday.

“It kind of gave us another possession,” Summit head coach Brian Coleman said of Wade’s interception. “That was big because it put us up with two scores. And a two-score lead was nice.”

Keaten Wade added, “I felt like it did (change momentum). It was a big defensive stop, My friend, my middle linebacker Jacob Turner, made a good play on the ball and I was just right there in the right spot.”

Amid the playoff-like charged atmosphere, the two teams squared off with both student sections and both bands going at it early. The Raptor sideline erupted as Ravenwood recovered the opening onside kick in Spartan territory. Less than two minutes later, they were even louder as Kartuah Chapman put their team up 6-0 on a two-yard plunge.

“The first drive of the game I thought we ran the ball well,” Ravenwood head coach Will Hester said. “You get behind two or three scores if it becomes that kind of game. We’re able to play that way, so it’s not a scary thing for us to throw the football, we just didn’t execute as well as we could have.”

Destin Wade put the Spartans on the board from short yardage on Summit’s ensuing drive. Ryan Crane’s extra point put the Spartans ahead with 8:22 left in the first quarter, a lead that Summit did not relinquish.

Summit held the Raptors’ next drive and Keaton Wade finished it off with a 27-yard run on an improvised pitch from brother Destin.

“So, it wasn’t designed to be a pitch, that was just Destin doing his stuff and me being aware,” Keaton Wade said. “It was just a sweet read and I was on the outside playing decoy, and he pitched it and I saw the ball in there and just made a play.”

Destin Wade agreed, “It wasn’t planned at all. I just saw him to my right and made sure he was behind me and pitched it and he made a play. I guess it was just instinct I knew he was going to be there.”

Ravenwood responded as Raptor quarterback kept plays alive with his feet and hit Lee Mollette with a perfectly placed 36-yard strike, the first of two for Mollette, cutting the lead to 15-13 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter saw the Spartans pull away as they outscored Ravenwood 21-7 to take a 36-20 lead into the half.

The third quarter saw a completely different tempo as both teams’ defenses began to stiffen. The Raptors turned to their passing attack in an attempt to cut the lead, but Summit’s defensive backs made it difficult for Parson to find open receivers.

“That is a really good offensive team (Ravenwood),” Summit head coach Brian Coleman said. “That’s a really good team and we’ll probably see them in the playoffs and (Summit defensive coordinator Kirk Taylor) had a great scheme and I am really proud of him and that defensive staff. I mean that’s a really good offense.”

Coleman calls senior Brady Pierce his “defensive coordinator on the field.”

“The defensive strategy that our coaches put forth was actually amazing,” Pierce said. “The coverages that they mixed through was a big part of it. They couldn’t throw as much as I think they wanted to because we were all covering downfield. We had to make him scramble around a little bit.

“We were dropping more than we normally do and blitzing less to keep him contained. They have a lot of good athletic receivers, we knew that coming in, this is probably the best wide receiver corps we’ve faced in a long time, actually probably ever.”

Destin Wade collected 49 of his 264 rushing yards on the only score of the third quarter.

“I just saw an open hole, it was big,” Destin Wade said. “I made two cuts and used my speed to get the touchdown. It was just my O-line making blocks. They’re always doing good up front. Like I always say, ‘they’ve got me, and I’ve got them,’ so we just have a good bond. They just opened holes for our guys.”

The teams swapped fourth-quarter scores with Dominick Hollis scoring from two yards for Summit and Molette’s second touchdown reception.

“We knew what their game plan was going to be,” Hester said. “But some of the best teams out there, you can tell what play’s coming, but you’ve still got to stop it. They’re very good up front, they’re very good in the backfield, and (the Wades) can play. We didn’t play our best tonight, (Summit) played pretty good, but in the end, we’ve got to continue to get better and if we take care of business, maybe we’ll see them again one day.”

SUMMIT 49, RAVENWOOD 28

Ravenwood (5-2, 2-1 7-6A), Summit (7-0, 3-0)	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Ravenwood	13	7	0	8	28
Summit	15	21	6	7	49

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter

R – Kartuah Chapman 2 run, 10:43. Kick failed.

S – Destin Wade 1 run, 8:22. Ryan Crane kick.

S – Keaten Wade 27 run, 3:55. Brandon King pass from Brady Pierce.

R – Lee Molette 35 pass from Chris Parson. Ansel Anderson kick.

2nd Quarter

S – D. Wade 3 run, 11:48. Crane kick.

R – Myles Pollard 6 pass from Parson, 8:03. Anderson kick.

S – King 4 run, 3:34. Crane kick.

S – Pierce 6 run, 1:00. Crane kick.

3rd Quarter

S – D. Wade 49 run, 1:42. Kick failed.

4th Quarter

S – Dominick Hollis 2 run, 4:10. Crane kick.

R – Molette 12 pass from Parson, 3:30. JT Smitherman pass from Brenden Dickinson.

	Ravenwood	Summit
First Downs	15	27
Rushes-Yards	26-83	53-440
Pass Attempts-Completions- Interceptions	12-21-1	6-8-0
Passing Yards	141	73
Punts – Average	4-26.3	2-39.5
Fumbles-Lost	1-1	1-1
Penalties	5-50	6-55