Ravenswood winning by 40-point average in dominant stretch

RAVENSWOOD, W.Va. — After Class AA state tournament runs over the past two seasons where Ravenswood qualified as the No. 8 and then No. 7 seeds, the Red Devils are in prime position for a potential high seed this year in their first season in Class A.

“Two years ago, our first round game was (top seed and eventual champion) Poca,” said Ravenswood coach Mick Price. “What we learned that year is that you had better not be the No. 8 seed. Then, last year we were the No. 7 seed and had to play Bridgeport, a very good team.

“We realize that (the state tournament) is very competitive and you really have to do a good job – games are very physical,” Price said. “You have to be able to protect and defend. If you can’t defend at the state tournament, you’re going to get blown out of there.”

It was a 50-28 loss to Bridgeport in those quarterfinals a year ago as the Red Devils were outscored by 13 in the fourth quarter. But with just one senior gone from that team, Ravenswood has jumped out to a 10-1 record heading into Wednesday.

That lone loss came St. Marys back in December 64-61. The Red Devils, though, returned the favor just two weeks later with an 82-45 win over St. Marys.

“A lot of these kids have played and have an idea of what goes on,” Price said. “They’ve done a really good job of being consistent and they want to be good. St. Marys handed it to us right before Christmas and they have a really good team. We were able to get even with them and our kids have gotten off to a good start overall. We have some good kids who have really worked hard.”

Since the loss to St. Marys, Ravenswood has outscored its eight next opponents by an average 40 points.

40 points.

The closest game in that stretch came in a 17-point win over Williamstown and includes a 26-point win over a state tournament participant from last year in Parkersburg Catholic.

Riley Heatherington, who committed to the University of Charleston in August, has established himself as one of the better players in the state, scoring his 1,000th career point earlier this season. The 6-foot-7 standout averaged 18 points per game last year as a junior.

“He’s just so much more mature,” Price said. “He has started ever since he was a freshman. He can do so much more, he has great length, he can help you defensively, and offensively he can get 20 points per game a lot of different ways. He shoots the 3 well, he can get inside well and he can distribute well – he’s our second leading assist player on our team. He’s a good one to build around.”

Junior Isaiah Morgan also is a part of that returning cast for Ravenswood, scoring 15 points per game a season ago. Hayden Mandrake, Jayden Rhodes and Stephen Dawson all returned as well after starting in that state tournament game last year.

Re-classification, however, did Ravenswood no favors in terms of its new region, Region 4. The Red Devils are aligned with three of Class A’s state tournament teams from a year ago, in defending champion St. Joseph Central, Tug Valley and Parkersburg Catholic.

“You have to win to get in,” Price said. “There’s no need to bellyache around. It is what it is. You have to survive and advance. There are going to be some very tough games just to get out of sectional play. When you get out of your sectional, it’s going to be a very tough regional matchup. It’s going to be an interesting end to the year.”

As for that drop from Class AA to Class A?

“We might have been a Class A school playing a AA schedule for the last couple of years,” Price said. “Class A is very tough and very competitive. It’s going to be a dogfight. You’re going to have to a couple of state championships just to get to the state tournament this year.”

And if Ravenswood does make it back to the state tournament, the Red Devils at their current pace will most certainly garner a much more desirable seed.