By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Ravenna senior quarterback M’Kell Williams made the impossible become possible on Friday night.

In a game-changing play that sparked a thunderous second half for the Ravens, the team captain turned what appeared to be a sure disaster into a momentum-shifting touchdown run that left most wondering, “How?”

And even left his head coach momentarily speechless.

After option-faking a jet sweep to Pavel Henderson, who was running from left to right across the line, Williams pulled the ball and ran toward his left tackle.

It was a mess over there, though, and Williams was bottled up for a loss.

Then he wasn’t.

Using a shifty stutter-step and a jump-cut followed by a burst of speed like he was shot out of a cannon, Williams left Roosevelt defenders grabbing for air and Williams sprinted all the way to the end zone untouched for a 29-yard touchdown.

The score gave Ravenna a 21-14 lead in what was a tight game to that point, but it was only a sign of what was to come for the Ravens, who snowballed three more scores into a six-minute window that ultimately pushed them to a commanding 42-21 victory over arch-rival Kent Roosevelt on Friday in Kent.

It was the 108th meeting between the schools and the Ravens now lead the all-time series 54-51-3.

Following the game, Brimfield Insurance’s Erin Latina presented The Big R Trophy to Ravenna head coach Joe Callahan and his Ravens team.

“We challenged our guys tonight and they delivered,” said Callahan in a raspy voice that was the result of the game. “We felt like we had done some nice things in the first half, but we also felt like we left some plays out there so we made some adjustments for the second half and challenged our guys to take the next step with them.”

As for Williams and his Barry Sanders-esque touchdown run, Callihan answered, but not before making an animated face as if expressing even he couldn’t believe it.

“That was one of those classic plays where you are thinking, ‘No, no, no,’ but then very quickly you are like, ‘Yes, yes, yes!,’ the first-year Ravenna coach said. “I had nothing but sheer excitement for him on that play. We give him some freedom to make plays out there, and he made something happen. I am proud of him, because he has put in a lot of work and things are paying off.”

Williams’ score came with 3:48 in the third quarter and was set up by a blocked punt by Zareus Susanek.

It also launched a six-minute turnaround that flipped the game from a 14-14 tie to a 42-14 Ravenna advantage.

On the Ravens’ next possession, Williams was once again up to his running magic when he took a designed run up the middle and absorb a physical hit that would have put most on the turf, but he kept his footing and while everyone else paused thinking he would all down, he tilted his run to the left sideline and raided for 31 yards. On the very next play, with Williams taking a breather, Henderson received a direct snap and took advantage of tremendous second-level blocking to get downfield, then took care of the rest himself by dispersing a pair of Rough Riders with stiff-arms and then pulling another one into the front corner of the end zone just inside the pylon.

Michael Myers, who was perfect on his extra points, booted another one through and Ravenna led 28-14 with 55 seconds left in the third quarter.

But they weren’t done.

On Kent Roosevelt’s ensuing possession, an attempted throw to a wheel route, which was only available for blink, was closed by the next blink when Maykai O’Neal stepped in front of it from his safety position.

O’Neal ripped the ball out of the air, in mid-stride, made one stop-and-go move along the right sideline and stomped into the end zone for a 49-yard interception return with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.

Ravenna’s lead grew to 35-14 on Myers’ point-after.

Things kept snowballing for the Ravens, who recovered a Riders (1-2) fumble on their next possession at the start of the fourth quarter.

Williams caused the ball to be jarred loose with a hard hit, then Jaxon Kelly jumped on it to set up Ravenna on the Roosevelt 15.

On the next play, Williams dropped back and delivered a laser to sophomore Bobby Melzer, who was covered, but fully extended and held onto the ball as he landed for another Ravenna (2-1) score and 42-14 lead.

“We really grabbed onto some momentum during that stretch,” Callihan said. “I am extremely proud of the team. We had our best week of practice this week, and I think that can open our eyes a little bit. I think everyone was excited and focused because it was Kent week. Everyone was up, but I think we can have those kinds of practices every week.”

All of the explosive plays for Ravenna seemingly masked a game where it also had some struggles. The Ravens did not get their first first down until 11:31 in the second quarter and survived some drops in the passing game, as well as some fumbles that they were able to recover before the Riders got to them.

Ravenna jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Henderson picked a Riders pass on the second play of the game at the 20 yard line and returned it to the 9. Two plays later, he busted across the goal line for the touchdown and a Ravens lead at 10:25 of the opening quarter.

Roosevelt tied the score at 2:32 in there first on a 1-yard quarterback-keeper by Matt McCann, who received pushing assistance from his backfield teammate Cameron Dent.

Williams’ first touchdown of the game put the Ravens back on top, 14-7, at10:43 of the second quarter. Roosevelt once again had an answer, though, scoring just before halftime (22 seconds left) on a 19-yard pass from McCann to Jon Jon Smith from 19 yards out on a third-down play.

“Listen, it comes down to this, Ravenna made plays tonight, and we didn’t,” Kent Roosevelt head coach Alan Vanderink said. “You have to give Ravenna credit for that.

“The scoreboard was tough tonight, but I am always proud of my team. I love them no matter what,” Vanderink said.

Williams finished the game with 70 yards rushing on eight attempts and his two scores. He also completed three passes for 75 yards and a touchdown.

Henderson had eight carries for 41 yards for Ravenna and also scored a pair of touchdowns.

Freshman Yahntae Smith, who entered the game early in the first quarter and instantly provided a spark of energy to the Riders’ offense, finished as the Riders’ leading rusher despite being knocked out of the game early in the first quarter with a leg injury. He had 45 yards on six carries.