Story written by: David Dawson 

BRENTWOOD — The Ravenwood High School football team entered Friday night's Region 7-6A game against rival Brentwood with one primary objective: To move the football.

The wooden football, that is.

The Raptors ultimately accomplished that mission by posting a 21-16 road victory over the Bruins in front of a raucous capacity crowd. The Ravenwood win — fueled by a solid performance from quarterback Chris Parson and massive defensive effort from Andrew Dudas — enabled the Raptors to regain possession of the wooden-football trophy that is awarded each year to the winner of the regular-season's installment of the Battle of the Woods.

The coveted trophy had been housed on the Brentwood campus as the Bruins have won the last three regular season meetings, including a 28-21 overtime victory at Ravenwood last year.

"We're taking it back home — back to where we feel like it belongs," said Ravenwood coach Will Hester.

Ravenwood improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the region. The Raptors have reeled off four consecutive wins since suffering a season-opening loss to Montgomery Bell Academy.

Brentwood, which advanced to last year's state championship game, fell to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the region.

Parson, the agile and crafty quarterback who has committed to Florida State, threw one touchdown pass and ran for another while helping the Raptors earn the win in the typically intense, typically tight contest between the rivals. Parson finished 13-of-20 through the air for 134 yards, including an eight-yard touchdown pass to Blake Irvin.

Friday's game was the first Battle of the Woods experience for Parson, and he said the game lived up to its billing. But he also said that he and the Raptors were determined not to let the environment become a distraction.

"It's a big game, lots of hype and a lot of talk going on throughout the week," said Parson. "But coach Hester talked with the captains on Sunday, and just reminded us to stay focused on the football game and not let the outside stuff get in our heads. We understood the assignment, and that was just to come in here and play Ravenwood football and get that 'dub' — and that's what we did."

Ravenwood owned a 14-7 lead at the half and then pushed the advantage to 21-10 on a five-yard touchdown run by Parson with 8:42 left in the game.

Brentwood answered with a touchdown drive — capped by a terrific 8-yard touchdown catch by Aaron Walton on a pass from Davis White — to trim Ravenwood's lead to 21-16 with 3:54 remaining. After the touchdown, however, Brentwood was hit with a 15-yard penalty that pushed back their two-point attempt, and the Bruins were unable to convert.

Ravenwood was then able to run out the clock on its ensuing possession, thanks to a pivotal third-down conversion near midfield with just over two minutes left.

Parson made a number of huge plays during the game, but his favorite play was probably one in which he actually lost yardage. On the game's final snap, he backpedaled a few yards, then took a knee as the final horn sounded.

"It was a great feeling," Parson said. "I'm proud of everyone. Proud for our city, proud for our student section — they were loud tonight — and it's just a great win. It's always great when you come out on top."

Ravenwood's Carter Pace rushed for a team-high 87 yards on 13 carries, and provided Ravenwood with several crucial first downs in short-yardage situations.

"I was just following my blockers and doing what I do," said Pace, shrugging off his gritty night of work. "We looked at this game as being part of the road to the championship. We're trying to win it all."

Kartuah Chapman added 81 rushing yards on 11 attempts.

Dudas led Ravenwood's defense with eight tackles, seven of which were solo hits. He and JT Smitherman, who finished with 4.5 tackles and an interception, contributed a number of huge plays and their names were heard on the PA system again and again.

For Brentwood, Scott Collins rushed for 105 yards on 26 carries and scored a TD for the Bruins, who were obviously disappointed with the outcome, but showed plenty of positive signs, especially on offense.

Wearing throwback uniforms that were modeled after the team's jerseys in their inaugural season in 1982, Brentwood compiled 292 total yards and 20 first downs.

White completed 19-of-26 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown for the home team. His favorite target was Walton, who hauled in nine catches for 73 yards, including the TD catch. Matthew Manning also had a big night, with six catches for 59 yards. But Brentwood was ultimately unable to overcome a series of missed opportunities, including three drives in which they entered the red zone but failed to come away with points.

"We definitely had some positives tonight," said Walton. "Our offense was clicking, but we just need to do a better job of finishing drives. That was the difference in the game."

After the Raptors carried a 14-7 lead into the half, Brentwood kicker Aiden Parker pulled the Bruins to within 14-10 when he connected on a 30-yard field goal with 5:06 remaining in the third quarter. His kick accounted for the only scoring in the quarter and set the stage for the high-drama fourth quarter.

"This was just a really good, really clean high school football game, and it was very evenly played," said Hester.

Hester, now in his second stint at Ravenwood, said he enjoyed being part of the Battle of the Woods again, regardless of the outcome.

"For the kids — whether you are a kid in the stands, a cheerleader, a member of the band or a football player — it doesn't get any better than this," he said. "I mean, they'll be some guys who go on to play Division II football that won't play in front of crowds like this. It's just really special."

Brentwood 21, Ravenwood 16 

RHS 7 7 0 7 — 21

BHS 7 0 3 6 — 16

Scoring Summary 

1Q (8:44) R – Blake Irvin 8 pass from Chris Parson (Alec Delperdang kick);

1Q (2:54) B – Scott Collins 3 run (Aiden Parker kick);

2Q (11:18) R– Carter Pace 10 run (Delperdang kick);

3Q (5:06) B – Parker 30 FG;

4Q (8:42) R – Parson 5 run (Delperdang kick);

4Q (3:54) B – Aaron Walton 8 pass from Davis White (run failed).

Team Statistics 

First Downs — Ravenwood 20, Brentwood 20

Rushing Att/Yards — Ravenwood 32-206, Brentwood 34-123

Passing Yards — Ravenwood 134, Brentwood 169

Penalties — Ravenwood 5-60, Brentwood 4-40

Individual Statistics 

Rushing

Ravenwood — Carter Pace 13-87, Kartuah Chapman 11-81, Chris Parson 7-37, Andrew Dudas 1-1. Brentwood — Scott Collins 26-105, Jackson Lowe 2-9, Matthew Manning 1-4, Aaron Walton 1-2, Davis White 3-2, Jack Brock 1-1.

Passing

Ravenwood — Chris Parson 13-20-1-0 — 134. Brentwood — Davis White 19-26-1-1 — 153

Receiving 

Ravenwood — Brenden Dickinson 4-30, Nic Raum 3-27, Myles Pollard 1-26, Nathan Putty 1-19, Lee Molette 1-18, Blake Irvin 2-12, Carter Pace 1-2. Brentwood — Aaron Walton 9-73, Matthew Manning 6-59, Clayton Merrill 3-36, Scott Collins 1-7, Walker Childs 1-2, Hayden Hooper 1-(-8).