Football: Ravens fall short of postseason, eliminated by Stadium

It’s a harsh reality when you realize your season is going to be over when the last game on the schedule is in fact the last game of the year. There is something special about the unknown of the playoffs and the parity that they bring.

For Auburn Riverside, that reality has hit them before their last game of the season — in a 26-14 loss to Stadium on Oct. 24. In a game they had to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Ravens came up short. After losing to Kennedy Catholic, coach Greg Herd told his guys to focus on the three-week season ahead of them.

“It was just a tough loss …We really approached it one week at a time and we didn’t take care of step two. But we have a really important game to play for the Fugate Trophy against Auburn next week … You just gotta be excited for next week, there are something that are out of touch now, but there are stll things to play for,“ Herd said.

With a win, the Ravens would have put the pressure on Stadium, Auburn and Kentwood to push for the final playoff spot. But with the Stadium win, Auburn now also needs a help to make the postseason as well because they have the tiebreaker with Stadium, but do not with Kentwood.

In the game against Stadium, the Ravens looked to be the side pressing the ball. The Ravens knew they had their hands full with the state’s leading rusher, Darius Sum, in the backfield for the Tigers.

But a forced fumble and recovery by Joey Singh gave Auburn Riverside some momentum. Two plays later, quarterback Andrew Wold found Cole Svendsen on a beautiful ball over the Stadum defenders for a 44-yard touchdown pass with 7:10 left in the first quarter.

Early in the first quarter, the Ravens took a 7-0 lead, but that would be it from the Riverside offense.

“Their coach knows a lot about ball and was really mixing up the looks that we got. For a quarterback and offensive line, when you don’t get the same thing you have to play every snap differently… They did a really good job of executing their game plan and we didn’t do as well adjusting to it,” Herd said.

The Tigers took a bit longer to get going, but in the second quarter, Sum started making his presence felt. He ran in from 16-yards out, but a bad snap on the point after kept Auburn Riverside in front.

On Stadium’s next drive with 36 seconds left, Kooper Tasler ran a quarterback read into the endzone to take a lead that would never be threatened for the remainder of the game at 14-7.

The second half began and defenses still reigned supreme. On the first four drives of the half, Riverside punted twice and Stadium punted and turned the ball over on downs on its first two drives.

But the knife in the back of the Raven comeback was on fourth and 20 from the Raven 25. Tasler sent up a prayer to the left corner of the endzone and Case Kelanic came down with a reception and a touchdown with 3:15 left in the fourth quarter.

“The biggest thing is they made more plays than we did. Anytime you look at a football game, there are 4-8 plays that really impact and drive a game. I think they made a lot of those plays tonight to get momentum in the right plays at the right time,” Herd said.

To add insult to injury, on the following kickoff ,Auburn Riverside fumbled the kickoff and Cruz Nolan picked up the ball and ran it into the endzone.

Auburn got a late touchdown from Jonathan Epperson from four yards out to get the Ravens’ second score of the game. They needed an onside kick and some magic because the Ravens trailed 26-14.

Herd’s side actually recovered the onside kick, but Wold threw an interception on the second play of the drive, sealing the game for Stadium.

For seniors Wold, Epperson, Svendsen and even Alex Park, who made his return against Stadium, it is important to turn their attention to Auburn — a rival that is still fighting for a playoff spot.

“You can’t go back and change anything. You always gotta look through the front windshield. We aren’t looking in that rearview mirror. What’s gone is gone and what is done is done. The most important play is the next play… Our goal is to focus on what is in front of us and we have to take care of the opportunities we still have left,” Herd said.

Auburn and Riverside battle for the Fugate Trophy on Nov. 1 with kickoff at 7 p.m.