RAVENNA – The cliché “us against the world” has been overused in the sports world over the years.
But that mindset sure came in handy for the underdog Ravenna football team on Friday night.
Few people thought the Bulldogs had a chance to beat conference rival North Muskegon in their Division 7 pre-district rematch.
North Muskegon beat Ravenna 28-7 in the regular season and came into the game with an 8-1 record and one of the most potent passing attacks in West Michigan.
[1]But the Bulldogs, who were 6-3 in the regular season, rose to the occasion and shut down the Norse in a 10-7 stunner at North Muskegon.
Now they will be headed on the road to play Ithaca in a district championship matchup on Saturday at noon.
“We used it as motivation all week,” said Ravenna head coach Justin Ego about his team’s underdog status. “That was going to be our ‘why.’ We knew we had a lot of people doubting us and a lot of the media picked them to beat us. We kind of took the mantra of “us against the world.’
“We’re all we’ve got, and we’re going to stick together. We knew watching the film from the previous matchup that we were better than we showed.”
[2]Ravenna junior cornerback Caleb Forsythe admits that being doubted by everyone gave his team an extra spark.
“It gave us an edge that we didn’t really have the whole season,” said Forsythe, who had an interception in the game. “Our backs were against the wall and we had everything to play for. We know this won’t last forever, so we wanted to make sure that we enjoyed it.”
Forsythe and his defensive backfield gave the Bulldog faithful plenty to enjoy on Friday, limiting explosive North Muskegon quarterback James Young to 101 yards on 9-for-18 passing. Young came into the game with nearly 1,900 yards passing and 25 touchdown throws this season.
“It was most definitely our coaches,” Forsythe said about the defensive effort. “They put us in the position to play well. They saw we had the talent and ability to play pressure and zone. They knew how to do it and trick the quarterback. They really put us in the position to succeed.”
[3]While the coaching staff did its part, Ego was quick to compliment Forsythe and his defensive teammates.
Carter Schullo led the Bulldogs defensively with eight tackles, while Hunter Hogan and Derek Finlay each had 7.5.
“We really put it on the players to be aggressive and be in their face,” the coach said. “I think outside of our corners and really the whole team defense, our defensive line really got pressure. We played great team defense, and I don’t think their quarterback could always tell what we were in at the line.”
Bouncing back from defeat has been a specialty for Ravenna this season.
The Bulldogs started the season with a strong first half in Week 1 against Beal City but were outscored 22-0 in the second half and lost a 22-21 heartbreaker.
[4]But Ravenna put the heartbreak aside and won its next five games, beating Montague 14-7, Holton 61-8, Shelby 55-13, Mason County Central 19-14 and Hesperia 62-30.
“We kind of fell apart,” Ego said about the second half against Beal City, which remains undefeated on the season. “We had a lot of injuries and things fell apart. But after that game, we looked and saw what we could be. If we really bought into this, we thought we could be something. I think once we saw what we could be on film, we rallied.”
The five-game winning streak ended with back-to-back losses to North Muskegon and Oakridge (48-6), but again the Bulldogs pulled themselves off the mat and got back after it.
They dominated a good Hart team 48-0 in the final week of the regular season, which gave them momentum heading into the playoff rematch against North Muskegon.
[5]“It was huge,” said Ego about the Week 9 win over Hart. “Those two losses stung and you’re kind of rolling with losing. We didn’t play our best those weeks and we knew it. Just to get that win over Hart gave us good momentum going into the playoffs.
“They were a great team going for their seventh win. I felt that game really proved something to us and that if we play to our best ability, we can be a really good team.”
Forsythe is hoping his team continues to show what it can be on Saturday and brings home its first district title since 2016.
It won’t be easy, because the Yellowjackets are 9-1 and have outscored their opponents 416-124 this season.
“It would mean everything,” Forsythe said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about, bringing home some hardware. Some of these seniors have worked so hard and haven’t gotten it. We want it really bad.” 
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