Disciplined Ravens follow Miller to first Week 1 victory in five years

Ravenna teammates celebrate a first-quarter touchdown by senior Mark Miller.
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By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Standing near the south end zone of Kenneth Lohr Stadium, there was a smile that flashed across the face of Ravenna football head coach Brian Coman.

It would be easy to associate his happiness with his team’s opening-night 28-7 victory over the host Field Falcons, but there was more to it than that.

It was how his team got to the finish line that had him beaming.

“I am really proud of my guys tonight, because I have to say that is probably the most disciplined football I have seen them play since I have been here,” Coman said. “We have been coaching them up on the importance of that, and they have been taking the coaching. Tonight, they applied it.”

Ravenna’s Carsyn Swauger runs in the open field after pulling in a pass from quarterback Ethan McKamey.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

The result was the team’s first opening-night win since the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

The Ravens had lost the previous five Week 1 games, including defeats to arch-rival Kent Roosevelt the last three years.

To get there, Ravenna used a dominant second half to expand beyond a narrow 14-7 halftime lead.

Ravenna’s defense led the way in the final two quarters to completely stymie the Falcons’ offense.

Field had only two second-half first downs, with the latter coming in the closing seconds and managed a total of just 43 yards after halftime (and only 103 yards for the game).

“To be honest, I was not pleased with how we tackled (in our scrimmage) against Conneaut last week,” Coman said. “We harped on being better this week, and the guys definitely came out ready to tackle tonight.”

Outside of the game-tying, first-quarter touchdown by Field sophomore Will Henson, which came from 27 yards out in which he broke through a series of would-be tacklers, the Ravens pursued and wrapped up ball-carriers throughout the night.

Offensively, disciplined blocking also helped spring Mark Miller to a career night.

The senior running back ran for 135 yards on only 11 carries and scored three of the Ravens’ four touchdowns.

Two of Miller’s scores broke the game wide open in the third quarter.

The first with 5:09 on the clock, when he took one of the many counter hand-offs over left tackle that punished the Falcons’ defense all game 32 yards untouched into the end zone.

It pushed Ravenna’s lead to 21-7.

Ravenna’s Bradley Davis secures a fumble on the Falcons’ 7-yard line.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

Field’s ensuing possession turned into a series of costly miscues.

Two false-start penalties pushed the Falcons back 10 yards, then on a third-down play on their own 14, the ball found its way onto the turf that was recovered by the Ravens on the 7.

The Ravens’ first offensive play after the turnover was the same play they had just scored on, with Miller again coasting to the touchdown to suddenly give his team a stronghold on the game.

“Tonight was a lot of fun. This week, I have had a hard time sleeping, because I have been so excited for the season to actually start,” Miller said. “We are low in numbers this year, but like Coach Coman says, ‘This is all we have, but this is all we need.’

“I am so proud of my teammates tonight. I know I scored three touchdowns tonight, but somebody had to carry the ball and it just happened to be me. I would never have been about to score if it wasn’t for how amazing our line played tonight. I don’t think I was touched in the backfield once all night. They let me have the night I had.”

Miller’s standout performance was not limited to the offensive side of the ball.

He also pulled in a second-quarter interception, then also, as the place-kick holder, salvaged a bad snap on a third-quarter extra point that he scooped up, scrambled and somehow found teammate D’Anthony Allen in the back of the end zone for an unpredictable 2-point conversion.

Ravenna’s other touchdown in the game was scored by junior Ethan McKamey, who was starting his first game as a varsity quarterback. McKamey scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter that broke a 7-7 tie.