RAVENNA — Gavin Peeps got the ball to Roosevelt’s array of playmakers and they took care of the rest as the Rough Riders topped host Ravenna 35-14 in the 111th installment of the historic rivalry.
“[Gavin] knows our philosophy,” Roosevelt coach Kardell Jackson said. “It’s get our playmakers the ball on the perimeter. We know we got guys that can make plays when we give them the ball in space.”
Peeps, a senior quarterback, went 20 of 29 for 355 yards and four touchdowns against zero interceptions. The senior ran for a fifth touchdown, a key insurance score. He spread the ball around beautifully, finding eight different receivers. Six of them finished with multiple catches: Tyler Ellington (five catches, 122 yards), Jaiden Portis (five catches, 89 yards), Teddy Maccarone (two catches, 53 yards), Sevyn Jones (two catches, 26 yards), Justin Green (two catches, 25 yards) and Brock Catalucci (two catches, 24 yards).
“We got a phenomenal group of guys [that] came in and worked all summer,” Peeps said. “Our wide receiver corps is awesome.”
Portis, a senior, caught three of those touchdown passes from Peeps, including arguably the play of the game. The game hung at 7-0 Rough Riders for more than a quarter after they marched down the field on the game’s opening possession. Ravenna nearly tied it, getting all the way to the Roosevelt one-yard line before fumbling. On the ensuing Rough Riders’ possession, Peeps found Portis on a hook route. Portis made one man miss and was gone for a 36-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
After another Ravenna red-zone fumble, the duo connected again, with Peeps finding Portis on an inside slant for a six-yard touchdown and a 21-0 halftime edge.
Their final connection might have been their best of the night. On fourth and 15, it didn’t seem like Peeps had anyone open down the field. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Portis blasted across the field, from left to center, and Peeps found him for a 20-yard dagger of a touchdown as Roosevelt (1-0) took a 28-0 lead midway through the third quarter.
“That was our game plan — take advantage of the middle of the field,” Portis said. “I knew once I broke, I knew this guy [Peeps] would give me the ball, so as soon as I snapped my head around, he delivered a great ball, I had the great catch. That’s just the chemistry we have.”
Peeps’ other passing touchdown came on the game’s opening drive as the senior quarterback quickly fired to Tyler Ellington on the sideline, with the junior wide receiver somehow eluding the crowd for a 47-yard touchdown.
Down 28-0, the Ravens had some of their best drives of the game. Ravenna’s LaDarion Askew had four catches for 89 yards and seven carries for 63 yards. Tailback Asygh Gaines got the Ravens on the board with a nifty cut to finish a nine-yard touchdown run while quarterback C.J. Ross added a 14-yard TD run to draw within 28-14 with 8:48 remaining.
Peeps responded brilliantly, finding Jones on a hook along the sideline to convert third and eight, then taking care of the last 33 yards with a pair of runs to take a 35-14 lead.
Ultimately, the Ravens (0-1) had simply dug too deep a hole with their four turnovers.
Ravenna with another really positive drive
The Ravens have really found something offensively. That three-back set really bringing a lot of deception, whether it’s Mark Miller on counters or C.J. Ross wreaking havoc on his own. After a lot of Miller early in the drive, it’s Ross taking it himself for a 14-yard touchdown run to draw within 28-14 with 8:48 remaining.
Ravenna gets on the scoreboard
Asygh Gaines gets the Ravens on the scoreboard with a sharp cut inside to cap a nine-yard touchdown run.
It’s 28-7 after three quarters and the Ravens have the ball again.
Gavin Peeps with a dagger for Roosevelt
That might be the dagger. Ravenna had a chance to get off the field. Fourth and 15 for Roosevelt from the Ravens’ 20 and Jaiden Portis with just a beautiful route. It looked like Gavin Peeps had nowhere to throw it, except short. And then all of the sudden, Portis breaks across the middle of the field, legs churning and no one within a few yards of him. Peeps finds him for the 20-yard touchdown and it’s 28-0 Roosevelt with 5:59 left in the third quarter.
Halftime takeaways from Ravenna
Two takeaways at halftime.
One, Roosevelt really does have a nice passing game. Gavin Peeps is 13 of 17 for 216 yards and three touchdowns. The crazy thing is he could have more as the Rough Riders dropped a couple of deep balls. I love the balance as Peeps has completions to eight different players. It’s not like he is just focusing on one wide receiver.
The other takeaway, this game should be a lot closer if not for self-inflicted errors by Ravenna. The Ravens have fumbled twice when they were inside the five-yard line. And the Rough Riders scored touchdowns both times on their ensuing drives. And that’s the difference in this one.
Gavin Peeps’ third touchdown pass pushes Roosevelt lead to 21
That’s 14 points off turnovers now for the Rough Riders. Roosevelt finishes the drive with Gavin Peeps firing the ball to Jaiden Portis on an inside slant for a six-yard score.
It’s 21-0 Roosevelt with 1:16 left in the half.
CJ Ross to LaDarion Askew has Ravenna back in it
A big and quick response for the Ravens. They’re in that power package with three backs. They’ve been running all game but this time quarterback CJ Ross freezes for a moment, then uncorks a deep ball to LaDarion Askew for a gain of 60 yards. Ravenna is in the red zone, trailing 14-0 with 4:30 left in the opening half.
Roosevelt takes a two-score lead
A very tough sequence for the host Ravens as they fumble near the goal line. The Rough Riders take full advantage with Gavin Peeps finding Jaiden Portis on a button hook and Portis making a man miss along the right sideline en route to a 36-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 5:24 left until halftime.
Peeps has already completed passes to EIGHT different receivers/running backs.
Ravenna driving at the end of the quarter
Roosevelt leads 7-0 but Ravenna is driving. On third and 10, CJ Ross found Marcus Hutchinson on a flare out of the backfield and Hutchinson falls a yard shy of the marker.
It’s fourth and one for the Ravens from the Rough Riders’ 16.
Roosevelt strikes immediately
Quite an opening drive from the Rough Riders as Gavin Peeps converts a third down by rolling left and finding Tyler Ellington hooking in along the left sideline. Peeps later finds Ellington on a quick-fire laser to the left sideline with Ellington doing the rest for a 47-yard sprint down the left sideline. It’s 7-0 Roosevelt with 8:34 left in the opening quarter.
Tale of the tape between Ravenna and Roosevelt football
Meet the Roosevelt Rough Riders football team
Roosevelt graduated a big senior class but returns a number of talented wide receivers/defensive backs, including Tyler Ellington, Teddy Maccarone and Jaiden Portis. That provides Gavin Peeps, in his first full season as the Rough Riders’ starting quarterback, some nice options. It also helps that Roosevelt has a strong one-two duo in the backfield in running backs Makhi Jones and Ke’Shan Talbert. The Rough Riders hope to shake off four straight losing seasons to post their first winning record since 2020.
Meet the Ravenna Ravens football team
Ravenna returns quarterback C.J. Ross, who has taken a true leadership role on both sides of the football as he is also a standout defensive back. LaDarion Askew should be a nice weapon for Ross to throw to, while the Ravens also look strong in the trenches, led by Bradley Davis, Keon Fortson and Jontez Williams. Ravenna ended 2024 with momentum, holding four of its last five regular-season opponents to single digits. The Ravens hope to shake off back-to-back 3-7 seasons and record their first winning record since 2021.
Meet Roosevelt coach Kardell Jackson
Kardell Jackson is a Roosevelt Class of 2014 graduate who went on to play at Ashland University before an injury cut short his college career. He served as an assistant at Roosevelt and Stow-Munroe Falls before taking the helm in Kent in 2023.
Meet Ravenna coach Brian Coman
Brian Coman is a Ravenna Class of 1988 graduate who went on to play at Youngstown State University (winning a national title along the way). A longtime offensive coordinator at Akron East, Coman also served as an assistant at Ravenna and Stow-Munroe Falls before taking over the Ravens last year.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: OHSAA football scores | Roosevelt football’s aerial attack wins the day against Ravenna
Reporting by Jonah Rosenblum, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
