BRENTWOOD — Ravenwood High School football fans might be wondering: Does quarterback Chris Parson prefer running for a touchdown or throwing one?
It was hard to tell on Friday night — because Parson kept doing both.
During an electrifying performance against Centennial, Parson accounted for six touchdowns — three with his legs and three with his arm — while leading the Raptors to a 52-7 homecoming win.
Parson had rushing touchdowns of 10, 1 and 31 yards, and he completed scoring passes of 44, 57 and 21 yards while helping Ravenwood zoom to the Region 7-6A victory. Wide receiver Lee Molette hauled in two of the touchdowns for the Raptors, who improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the region. Centennial fell to 5-3, 1-3.
After the game, Parson put the question to bed about his favorite type of scoring play.
"I'd rather throw a touchdown pass than run for a touchdown," he said. "Because, when you throw a touchdown pass, it's more of a 'we thing' instead of 'me thing.' … I like getting my teammates involved. Our wide receivers work really hard, and they are really talented. So, I love spreading the ball around."
The victory enabled Ravenwood to rebound in impressive fashion after suffering a region loss to Summit last week. Parson said the Raptors were frustrated about the setback, but said they were able to put it behind them.
"We flushed it," he said. "As a team, we just tried to move on. Tonight, we wanted to bounce back and to come out here and make a statement."
The Raptors accomplished that mission by dominating the game on both sides of the ball.
Complementing Ravenwood's explosive offensive, the Raptors' defense — led by Andrew Dudas and a host of other playmakers — were able to hold the Cougars in check. Centennial's lone touchdown came on special teams, when Brendan Jones scored on a 94-yard kickoff return in the first quarter.
Ravenwood head coach Will Hester said preparing for Centennial was a challenge, but said his players responded well.
"Playing against the option is always difficult, but I felt like our kids rose to the occasion," said Hester. "I was really proud of their effort."
On offense, the Raptors' receivers seemingly took turns making big plays, with Molette, Nathan Putty and Nicholas Raum all making contributions.
Ravenwood led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter and then took command by scoring three TDs in the final 8:30 of the second quarter for a 35-7 halftime lead. The Raptors padded their advantage with 10 more points in the third quarter, when Alex Callanen kicked a 23-yard field goal and Parson scored on a 31-yard run.
Hester said he was proud of the way his team was able to focus on football this week, and not let homecoming distract them from the job at hand.
"That was the message all week — what happened from 7 (p.m.) to 9:30 was the most important thing for us," he said. "You don't ever want to play a region game on homecoming. But if it falls that way, you have to do it, and you have to come out and take care of business. Moving to 3-1 in the league was the biggest thing for us tonight."
Centennial came into the night with plenty of momentum, having outscored their past two opponents 75-14 while posting lopsided victories over Dickson County and Franklin. The Cougars had scored 40 or more points in four games this season.
But the Centennial offense never found a groove on Friday, and the Cougar defense, like so many other teams, had very little success in containing Parson.
Throughout the game, Parson was able to break tackles — or, in many cases, avoid them altogether — with his agility and speed.
Parson, who credited his teammates for fueling his big effort, said he wasn't sure when he last scored six touchdowns in a game.
"It's been a while," he said with a smile. "I honestly don't remember."
Although Parson showcased his arm strength on several occasions, his longest touchdown pass of the night actually came on a rather short throw. It was Molette who did most of the work on that play, when he caught a pass near the 50-yard line, alluded a tackle and then broke back all the way across the field. Molette benefitted from a nice downfield block to cover the final 10 yards on the 57-yard touchdown.
"Lee Molette — that's my guy," said Parson, again smiling. "Ever since we were kids."
Ravenwood's final touchdown drive of the night was the Carter Pace show. He carried the ball on all four plays of the 75-yard drive, beginning with a 50-yard burst on the first play and a 15-yard scoring run to end it.
Both teams are idle next week.
Ravenwood stays home for a contest against Pope John Paul II on Oct. 22, while Centennial treks to LaVergne the same night.
Ravenwood 52, Centennial 7
CHS 7 0 0 0 — 7
RHS 14 21 10 7 — 52
Scoring Summary
1Q (8:16) R – Chris Parson 10 run (Alex Callanen kick);
1Q (8:03) C – Brendan Jones 94 kick return (Sam Cochran kick);
1Q (4:53) R – Parson 1 run (Callanen kick);
2Q (8:24) R – Lee Molette 44 pass from Parson (Callanen kick);
2Q (1:09) R – Molette 57 pass from Parson (Callanen kick);
2Q (0:10) R – Nicolas Raum 21 pass from Parson (Callanen kick);
3Q (4:43) R – Callanen 23 FG;
3Q (0:32) R – Parson 31 run (Callanen kick);
4Q (7:09) R – Carter Pace 15 run (Callanen kick).
