Ravenna falls to Lorain on late score in fourth quarter

RAVENNA - Though the result was not what he wanted, first-year Ravenna head coach Joe Callihan said he was proud of his team’s effort in its season-opening 16-8 loss to Lorain Friday.

“Our guys fought hard,” said Callihan. “It was a tough one. Our guys battled through it. We had a lot of guys going both ways. We fell a little short and ultimately that’s on me and our staff for not getting the kids where we need them to be for week one.”

Lorain head coach Damion Creel agreed with his counterpart that it was a hard-fought contest and praised his team for battling, even when things didn’t always go their way.

“They found a way to get it done and I’m just so proud of them,” said Creel. “Before the game, I talked about this being their moment to set the table for Lorain football and get this football program where we want it to be. They did that.”

Things got tough for Ravenna when starting running backs Carlione White and Austin Marshall were injured on the same play late in the first quarter and did not return to the game.

“Losing those two both on the same play and then having to move everyone else around to compensate for that, it was tough,” Callihan said.

Senior Pavel Henderson, sophomore Bobby Melzer, and junior Daniel Sanders shared running back duties for the remainder of the game.

“I’m really proud of our guys for stepping up,” Callihan said.

On the other sideline, Lorain’s running attack was anchored by junior quarterback Joseph Wyatt and junior running back John Salaman.

That pair teamed up on the Titans’ go-ahead touchdown with 2:38 to play in regulation.

Wyatt fumbled the snap, picked it up, ran an option to the left, and pitched the ball to Salaman, who found a crease and broke free on a 60-yard scoring run. Wyatt then scored on a keeper for the two-point conversion to give Lorain a 16-8 lead.

Creel said Wyatt “didn’t play perfect, but he did everything we needed him to do. Toward the end, he grew up a lot by leading us down the field and John made that play.”

On the final play of the game from near midfield, senior quarterback M’Kell Williams’ throw to Henderson was incomplete.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, Ravenna tied the game at 8 when senior quarterback M’Kell Williams connected with senior wide receiver Mayaki O’Neal on a 25-yard scoring pass. Williams took a short drop back and fired it quickly to O’Neal, who eluded a defender and sped down the sideline for the touchdown.

“We got the ball to [O’Neal], he made a great play, he made a couple of cuts and got his way into the end zone,” Callihan said.

Ravenna’s only touchdown capped a 16-play, 93-yard drive that chewed up more than six minutes of time at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter. Henderson then recorded the two-point conversion when he ran it after taking a direct snap.

After a scoreless first quarter, Wyatt scored on a 3-yard run at 11:19 of the second quarter. Wyatt faked the handoff, found a lane in the middle of the Ravenna defense and plunged into the end zone. After the Ravens were penalized for being offside on a failed extra point kick, Lorain went for two and converted when Wyatt ran the option to the left side and pitched to Salaman, who strode into the end zone untouched.

The Ravenna defense forced turnovers on two of Lorain’s drives in the first half. In the first quarter, Lorain used 10 straight running plays from Salaman, Wyatt and sophomore Ocir Kimble to march to the Ravenna 14-yard line. Wyatt’s pass over the middle was intercepted by Henderson. In the second quarter, Ravenna senior linebacker Thurman Treadwell shut the door on a Lorain scoring drive when he recovered a Titans’ fumble at the 1-yard line.

“We did a lot of good things,” Callihan said. “Obviously we’ve got a long way to go and a lot of room to improve for next week, but I know our guys … they’re going to be ready to go and they’re going to be ready for the challenges that we put in front of them to respond and bounce back next week.”

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ravenna falls to Lorain in 2022 football season opener