Ravens Football picked up an important Heart South Division win at home on Saturday.
The (13) Ravens defeated the (16) Baker University Wildcats, 27-24, moving to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Heart South.
The Ravens defense came up big time and again Saturday, but never more importantly than the final drive of the game. Protecting a 3-point lead, the Ravens defense faced a potent Baker offense with 57 seconds to play. The Wildcats entered the contest averaging 52 points per game, but as they had all game, the Ravens defense shut down Baker and forced a turnover on downs to close out the win. Baker managed just 13-of-32 passing for 155 yards.
The Ravens offense got going early in the game as Jackson Dooley connected with Joseph Lagafuaina for a 7-yard score. Later in the first quarter, Harry Balke drilled a 47-yard field goal to give the Ravens a 10-0 lead after a quarter of play.
The Wildcats scored back-to-back touchdowns early in the second quarter to move in front 14-10, but the Ravens had an answer. First, Dooley connected with Jacob Gathright on a 37-yard score, then the defense added their own points as Isaiah Hasten returned an interception 61 yards to give the Ravens a 24-14 lead at halftime.
Both teams' defenses stood strong in the third quarter as the 15 minutes passed without a score.
Baker scored on a touchdown run with 1:59 left to play in the game to cut the Ravens lead to 27-24. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Dalton Witherspoon provided a spark with a 36-yard run to move the ball into Baker territory. Witherspoon finished the contest with 109 yards on 25 carries.
The Wildcats exhausted their three timeouts on the following plays and forced a Ravens punt. However, the Ravens defense kept the Wildcats from getting out of their own territory and an incomplete fourth-down pass with 14 seconds sealed the deal.
Gathright led the Ravens receivers with 4 catches for 73 yards and a touchdown, and Dooley finished the game with 234 yards on 14-27 passing.
Defensively, Tim Glaser totaled 7 tackles, Zachary LaCombe had 6, and Blue Caplinger and Abram Phillips both had 5 tackles. Caplinger added an interception to go along with Hasten's pick-6.
The Ravens will hit the road for their next contest, a 12 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 game at Culver-Stockton College.
