by Ravenna, Ohio – In a game that continued Saturday afternoon after being suspended Friday night due to severe weather, Pavel Henderson caught a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, propelling the host Ravens to a 14-7 victory over visiting Norton in the season opener for both teams.
Norton got on the board when senior quarterback Larry Harper connected with senior wide receiver Jason Hippler on a 36-yard touchdown reception. The ensuing point-after was good, giving Norton an early 7-0 lead.
Ravenna responded with a drive of their own later in the quarter, and carried it over to the second.
Junior quarterback Eathan Cobbin connected with sophomore Pavel Henderson on a 15-yard touchdown reception to even things up.
Both defenses were stellar throughout the half, neither letting up an inch.
Ravenna looked to take the lead in the third quarter. On their first drive, they got to the 18-yard line. But Norton held serve and forced a turnover on downs. They started off at the 50 on their next possession, and got stopped again.
But an Eathan Cobbin punt inside the ten pinned Norton deep. And after a short punt, Ravenna took over at the Norton 24. Would the third time be the charm?
After being stopped on third down once again, Ravenna went for it.
The Ravens were successful, thanks to Cobbin hooking up with senior wide receiver Domo Allah on fourth down. This kept the drive going.
Eventually, they capitalized when Cobbin hooked up with a wide-open Pavel Henderson for a 10-yard touchdown reception to give the Ravens the lead, 14-7 at the end of the third.
Cobbin was 15 of 37 passing for 189 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. And senior wide receiver Domo Allah had seven receptions for 100 yards to aid the winning effort.
In the fourth quarter, the Ravens defense held firm, halting any momentum and coming up with key stops when needed.
On the Panthers’ final drive, they moved the ball to midfield, thanks to a couple of runs by Larry Harper, but Ravenna’s defense came up with some big plays down the stretch, including not letting the Panthers have a reception for positive yardage after the first quarter.
Harper went 8 of 19 passing for 84 yards and a touchdown.
“Both defenses showed up and played awesome. We took it to them pretty good and they beat us on a couple plays.” said Norton head coach Kevin Pollack. “We gotta figure some stuff out on offense or else it’s gonna be a long year. I gotta figure some stuff out on play-calling and stuff like that. Our intensity and energy were good. We keep that up and correct mistakes, we’ll be alright.”
Ravenna improves to 1-0. They travel to Akron Coventry next Friday. Norton drops to 0-1. They host Akron Springfield next Friday.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Pavel Henderson (Sophomore) (Ravenna)
Henderson caught four passes for 62 yards and both touchdowns, including what would turn out to be the game winner for the Ravens.
