KENT, Ohio — Kent Roosevelt quarterback Evan Shimensky, who will be attending Kent State on a football scholarship next season, was the big-name recruit going in to the Rough Riders' Portage Trail Conference showdown with Ravenna. Ravens coach Jim Lunardi hopes his running back, Stephen Wilmington, opened a few recruiters' eyes with his performance Friday night at Roosevelt Stadium.
KENT, Ohio — Kent Roosevelt quarterback Evan Shimensky, who will be attending Kent State on a football scholarship next season, was the big-name recruit going in to the Rough Riders' Portage Trail Conference showdown with Ravenna.
Ravens coach Jim Lunardi hopes his running back, Stephen Wilmington, opened a few recruiters' eyes with his performance Friday night at Roosevelt Stadium.
Wilmington rushed for 94 yards and three touchdowns, recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and completed a 44-yard halfback option pass to lead the Ravens to a 28-14 victory.
"He's a class act," Lundardi said. "Stephen is going to write his ticket wherever he wants to go. He's a heck of a football player. I hope a game like this opens up the door for Stephen. I don't know how it couldn't."
Wilmington's third score was the biggest. He took a direct snap on the first play after a Kent punt midway through the fourth quarter. After faking a handoff to D.J. Jones, Wilmington shot through a big hole on the left side and sprinted 43 yards for a touchdown to give Ravenna a two-touchdown lead.
"This feels great," Wilmington said. "It was supposed to be a sweep left. I was just going to get a few yards but my line was able to get a few blocks and I was off to the races."
Ravenna improved to 5-2 overall, 4-0 in the PTC Metro Division. Kent slipped to 5-2 and 2-2.
"[Ravenna] played a very good football game," Kent coach John Nemec said. "I congratulate them. Our kids played hard. They're very disappointed right now."
The Ravens scored on their first possession. Wilmington capped the 63-yard drive, taking a direct snap on a 2-yard touchdown run.
Kent threatened on its next possession, driving to the Ravenna 2, but Shakeel Howard fumbled and Wilmington recovered for Ravenna. The Rough Riders broke through on their next possession, Shimensky completing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Trei Thomas, with 7:25 left in the second quarter.
Ravenna held on to the lead when the extra point kick was wide. Kent took its first lead with 10 seconds remaining in the first half. Shimensky dove in from a yard out for the touchdown, then completed a pass to Nicholas Sacchini, who made a nice grab at the back of the end zone, for a two-point conversion and a 14-7 lead.
Shimensky completed 16 of 30 passes for 152 yards, but spent most of the second half scrambling for his life.
Ravenna drew even on the opening drive of the second half. Wilmington's 44-yard pass to Deiondre Mack was the big play.
"We've been working on it this whole week," Wilmington said. "They called it and I knew it was going to happen."
Bob Migra is a free-lance writer in Westlake.