Fourteen Tigers will play in their last home game today.

Rowland scores 2 TDs for Raptors

BRENTWOOD, TENN.— A dominating defensive performance wasn’t enough to send the Whitehaven football team to Cookeville.

Ravenwood took advantage of superb special teams play Friday to defeat the visiting Tigers 20-13 and earn a spot in next week’s 6A state championship game at Tennessee Tech. The Raptors (13-1) will play defending champion Maryville, which eliminated Murfreesboro Oakland 27-13.

For the Tigers (12-2), it was their second consecutive semifinal loss to the Raptors.

Raptors kicker Crews Holt had a huge role in the victory. The Mr. Football finalist opened the scoring with a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter, then had a momentum-changer early in the third when he connected on a 55-yarder that had plenty of room to spare.

That tied the score at 13 and came after a first half in which Whitehaven dominated the time of possession and outgained the Raptors 201-35 but led only 13-3.

After Holt’s first field goal, the Tigers put together a methodical drive behind the running of Kylan Watkins but came away scoreless after the Raptors held them four times inside the 5-yard line.

Whitehaven’s defense forced a three-and-out and a punt out of the end zone, giving the Tigers the ball on their own 46. The drive ended with Darrion Cole finding C.J. Biggins from 20 yards to make it 6-3.

Whitehaven then forced

another three-and-out and scored in spectacular fashion on its next possession. With the Tigers facing a fourth-and-10, Cole was flushed out of the pocket and scrambled around before dumping it off to Watkins, who weaved 25 yards to the end zone to make it 13-3 with 51 seconds to go in the half.

The excitement was shortlived, though, as Ravenwood’s Chris Rowland brought back the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to cut the lead to 13-10 at halftime. It was Rowland’s sixth return for a touchdown this year (three kickoffs and three punts).

Ravenwood’s offense finally got into the end zone late in the third quarter when Rowland scampered in from 23 yards to make it 20-13.

Whitehaven couldn’t get anything going after the break and faced a final chance from its 4-yard line with less than two minutes to go. Cole scrambled for a first down to the 38 with about a minute left but was injured on the play and had to leave the game.

Donte Vaughn came in, and his first pass was tipped by receiver Kadedrick Richardson and into the hands of Ravenwood’s Zack Stallcup to end it.