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The 2025 high school football season kicks off on August 21st. To get ready for the upcoming season, we’re counting down the top 10 teams in the 615 Preps coverage area. Ravenwood is our No. 2 team.
There’s no shortage of experience in Ravenwood’s locker room this fall — and it starts with the massive senior class.
With over 40 seniors suiting up, leadership, chemistry, and urgency are fueling a program that came up just three points short of a state championship appearance last season.
“It’s a big time for us to step up,” senior offensive lineman Sam Rohan said. “It’s been 10 years since we won a state championship, and this is the time to be there.”
That tone is echoed across the trenches, where linemen like Cooper Midgett and Josh Hosford know their performance could be the difference in navigating a tough slate.
“It’s gonna be really hard for teams to game plan against us,” Midgett said. “You don’t know what to expect depending on what QB is out there.”
“Our quarterbacks are very skilled,” Hosford added. “It’s comforting having them behind us — we’ve built a lot of chemistry and that only makes us more excited to play with them.”
New man in charge of the program
The man tasked with leading this senior-loaded roster is first-year head coach Ricky Rodriguez, who’s been on the staff for years and knows the expectations that come with the Raptor on the helmet.
TOP 10 AREA TEAMS: No. 10 Nashville Christian | No. 9 Page | No. 8 FRA | No. 7 Brentwood Academy | No. 6 Ensworth | No. 5 BGA | No. 4 Riverdale | No. 3 CPA
Rodriguez steps in for longtime head coach Will Hester, and is embracing the pressure that comes with following in his mentor’s footsteps.
“Big shoes to fill, both mentally and physically,” Rodriguez said. “Coach Hester was one of my biggest mentors. He left me with a lot of talent, and the expectations aren’t going to change.”
Rodriguez brings a championship pedigree of his own — guiding Ravenwood’s girls flag football team to a state title last season — and he’s hoping to channel that momentum into the fall.
“We’re excited to hopefully mirror what the girls flag football team did with the boys team,” he said.
The schedule won’t make things easy. Ravenwood will be tested early and often, with a loaded slate that includes Lipscomb Academy, Green Hill, Summit, Franklin, CPA, Independence, and Brentwood.
But what gives this team a unique edge is its identity on defense and the experience of having one of the state’s top defensive coordinators in Drew Collier. Rodriguez made it clear that the foundation remains on that side of the ball.
“We are always going to lay our hat on the defensive side,” Rodriguez said. “I tell our boys I wouldn’t mind winning games 7-3. Our defense is definitely going to lead our program if we want to obtain our goals.”
Ravenwood’s 2025 Schedule
August 22: at Madison Ridgeland Academy (Miss.)
August 29: at Lipscomb Academy
September 5: vs. Green Hill
September 12: at Summit
September 19: at Franklin
September 26: vs. CPA
October 3: vs. Independence
October 17: at Shelbyville
October 24: vs. Coffee County
October 31: vs. Brentwood
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