By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, it takes periodic reminders that Field running back Drexal McAmis is still just a sophomore.

The hard running, but nimble-footed back emerged as a standout for the Falcons last season as a freshman and has continued to grow into a lead role this year.

On Friday, his maturation process took another step forward.

Behind a cohesive offensive line, and everyone in the stadium understanding the circumstances of Field attempting to wind down the clock, McAmis churned out repeated chunk runs to collect the first downs necessary to close out the host Ravenna Ravens.

McAmis delivered and completed a 135-yard, three-touchdown night that lifted the Falcons (3-3, 2-1 MAC) to an exciting 35-23 Metro Athletic Conference victory in a game that included three lead changes.

“There are not many better feelings in football when you line up and they know you are going to run, and we know we are going to run, and you still get the yards you want,” Field head coach Matt Furino said. “Drexal, man, what a workhorse tonight. We trusted him to have the ball, we trusted him to hold onto the ball and we trusted him not to go out of bounds.”

McAmis’ third touchdown, from 1 yard out, was the only fourth-quarter points and it became the game-icing score with 5:06 to play that extended a 28-23 Field lead to 35-23.

The touchdown was set up by a fumble recovery by Braxton Baumberger that immediately changed the momentum of the game.

Trailing 28-23, but moving the ball near midfield, Ravenna was faced with a third-and-2. A handoff to the running back crossed the line of scrimmage and had space for the first down, but the ball suddenly shot out of his hands, presumably by a Falcons defender punching it out, and it landed directly into the hands of Baumberger, who had moved up from his safety position to make the tackle.

It happened so far, that for a couple seconds, Baumberger was the only player on the field that knew he had it. He raced toward the end zone for what looked like was going to be a 49-yard fumble return, but Ravenna quarterback M’Kell Williams never gave up on the place and chased Baumberger down from behind to tackle him short of the goal line.

Even still, a blocking penalty moved the ball back to the 20-yard line for the Falcons and they eventually converted a critical third-down pass from Tanner Roe to set up McAmis’ insurance touchdown.

The turnover was the third in the game for Ravenna (2-4, 0-3 MAC).

“Up until tonight, we had maintained turnovers pretty well,” Ravenna head coach Joe Callihan said. “We definitely lost the turnover battle tonight and in a close game, that is just something you can never do. You have to credit Field, though, they made the plays.”

Field took the initial lead on a 37-yard rumble by McAmis, which was quickly answered within a minute by Ravenna on a 22-yard pass play from Williams to Pavel Henderson.

Ravenna took the lead, 10-7, minutes later on a 38-yard field goal from Mike Myers.

The lead shifted back to the Falcons, 14-7, on a 4-yard run by McAmis in the second quarter with 7:48 showing.

The back-and-forth game tilted back in favor of the Ravens at the 2:39 mark on a 3-yard run by Henderson, who was a dynamic factor for Ravenna throughout the game.

The lead switched, again, back to Field just before the close of the first half when Baumberger pushed across the goal line for a 1-yard run with 47.9 seconds on the clock to give the Falcons a 21-16 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Baumberger pushed the lead to 28-16 on a 12-yard run, then Austin Marshall helped the Ravens cut into their deficit at 28-23 on a 14-yard run right up the middle.

The win for Field helped the team bounce back from a 42-28 loss to Cloverleaf last Friday in a season that has seemingly had more bad luck than good.

“I am really proud of this group. This has been a really tough season for them to this point, but not one kid has quit at any time throughout this season,” Furino said.

Baumberger finished the game with 99 yards rushing, with a pair of touchdowns, and 56 yards passing. In addition to his fumble recovery, he also had his county-leading fourth interception of the season.

Ravenna was led offensively by Henderson, who lined up all over the field as the Ravens did a nice job to get him the ball in space so he could break plays. He repeatedly jabbed, cut and  used a stiff-arm to extend plays for extra yardage. He had 127 yards receiving and a touchdown, and also had 22 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Williams completed 13-of-26 passes for 241 yards for the Ravens. Bobby Melzer had 55 yards receiving and Maykai O’Neal another 50 from Williams through the air.