Ravenna senior running back D.J. Jones said Thursday he will attend the University of the Akron and play football.

Jones and Ravens coach Jim Lunardi each confirmed that Zips coach Terry Bowden and running back coach Trent Boykin recruited the 5-foot-9 and 190-pound standout to UA.

“I am going as a preferred walk-on for a year and then I get a guaranteed scholarship after that,” Jones said. “I took my official visit to Akron and I like it a lot. I like the facilities, the coaching staff and the academics. It seemed like the best fit for me and it is close to home.”

Jones, a three-year starter for Ravenna, said he plans to major in sports management.

“They have talked about taking it slow and building a good program,” Jones said. “I feel like that is a good approach.”

Lunardi said Kent State and Buffalo were other Division I schools that showed an interest, and that Walsh University and a lot of other Division II schools expressed an interest.

“I am just happy that he will have an opportunity,” Lunardi said. “The kid is a football player. He is one of the best of the players I have coached in the 16 years I have been here.

“He never had negative yards, he never went backwards. He never had a negative carry as a senior. He never saw the inside of the training room and he never missed a practice. That says something about D.J.”

Other Ravenna football news

Lunardi said that 10 of his seniors will play college football next year. Some have made a decision, while others are still mulling over their offers.

Here is a breakdown of where they are at right now:

- D.J. Jones, RB, is going to Akron.
- Eddie Ramsdell, OT, is going to Hiram.
- Korey Briggs, DT, is going to Muskingum.
- Chris Sanders, TE-DE, is considering Case Western Reserve, Rose Hulman and Dakota State for computer science studies. He got a 31 on his ACT and is among Ravenna’s valedictorians with senior teammates Matt Thomas, who plans to attend Walsh University as a student and study physical therapy, and Dan Coleman, who plans to Kent State and study to be a doctor of pediatrics.
- Dylan Tirpak, FB-MLB, is considering Ohio Northern, Dayton and Marietta to play and also study engineering.
- Auston Reaser, OT-DT, is going to play at Ohio Northern and study either to work in a pharmacy or be an eye doctor.
- Brandon Holt, QB-LB, is considering taking a scholarship for baseball at Lourdes College or going to Baldwin-Wallace to play baseball and football.
- Matt Benson, OG-DT, is considering Muskingum and Thiel.
- Niquoli Harris, DT, is considering Denison and Wilmington.
- Mark VanHoose, PK, is considering Baldwin-Wallace and Hiram.

The following list includes area football teams that are currently ranked high enough to make the post season and may include those just on the outside looking in.  The top eight teams will make the state playoffs.  Here are this week’s computer rankings as provided by the Ohio High School Athletic Association:

Division I, Region 2
No. 1:  Canton GlenOak
No. 5:  Canton McKinley
No. 6:  Massillon Jackson

Just outside:  Wadsworth

Division II, Region 5
No. 4:  Kent Roosevelt
No. 5: Walsh Jesuit
No. 6 (tied):  Copley with Aurora

Division III, Region 9
No. 3:  Ravenna
No. 5:  St. Vincent-St. Mary

Just outside:  Southeast (No. 8); CVCA (No. 9)

Division III, Region 11
No. 4:  Northwest
No. 5:  Marlington

Division IV, Region 13
No. 3:  Canton Central Catholic

Just outside:  Manchester (No. 7)

For a look at example of how rankings are calculated per OHSAA visit: http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/ft/boys/rankcalc.htm

Consistently poor weather this spring has frustrated area coaches.

Highland baseball coach Jeff Rollyson is no different, though he is excited about Saturday when the Hornets are scheduled to play Ravenna at 3 p.m. at Progressive Field in the Eighth Annual Cleveland Indians Charities High School Hardball Classic that features three games Friday and three games Saturday.

“It’s a great opportunity and the chance of a lifetime to play on a Major League field against a real good opponent,´´ Rollyson said. “It should be fun. We will see what happens. They have a tarp on the field, so hopefully we get the game in.´´

The Hornets (8-5) have had several games postponed due to the rain and cold temperatures that have plagued Northeast Ohio.

“This has been a crazy spring,´´ Rollyson said. “It’s indescribable. Almost everyday it rains and we get rainout. It’s sunny outside today, but we need another day for the field to dry to play [at Tallmadge].

“Everyday you have to have a Plan B and a Plan C because Plan A gets wiped out.

“It’s been hard on everybody to develop consistency. The hitters and pitchers are not getting consistent work. Every team is dealing with this.´´

The Hornets feature junior outfielder Chad Sedio, senior pitcher Kyle Vozar and junior pitcher/shortstop Jerry Scholle.

Sedio has six home runs, Vozar is an Ashland University recruit and Scholle has a .470 batting average.

Brunwick and Cleveland St. Ignatius are scheduled to play at 8 p.m. Friday at Proressive Field.

The Portage Trail Conference Metro Division has come down to a showdown with Ravenna at Field, both with records of 6-2 overall and 5-0 in the division at 7 Friday night.

The other big element of this contest is playoff position. The Field Falcons  is third in the Division III, Region 9 controlling their own destiny according to joeeitel.com website behind Cardinal Mooney and Parma Padua.

Now a little irony. Keeping in mind the top eight teams in each region qualify for the post season, here is an example of the flukes of the system. Though the Ravens defeated Kent Roosevelt 28-14 two weeks ago, Ravenna is the No. 11 in the region and the Rough Riders are No. 7.  

The simple explanation is that Kent has beaten teams with better records. So Ravenna desperately needs this win to have a shot at post season. 

As for the theme off the game, it is simply this from each team’s offense – defense, try and stop us. Both teams have dynamic offenses that can score, mostly from their running games.

Ravenna runs the spread using running backs D. J. Jones well – 1, 179 yards, 8.2 per carry and 11 touchdowns and third best rusher in terms of yardage in Beacon Journal area  - as well as Stephen Wilmington – 584 yards, 7.4 yards per carry and 10 TDs. Quarterback Brandon Holt doesn’t run often  but frankly he is a great ball-handler and his fakes and execution make him invaluable.

There is no secret that the Falcons are built on the legs of one of the best, if not the best, runner in school history in junior running back Patrick Boggs, who leads the area with 1,506 yards and 19 touchdowns with a 7.6 yards per carry average. And do not underestimate the avility of quarterback Jay Wilson.

Division I, Region II

Massillon, Twinsburg and Canton McKinley currently have a hold on the playoffs with two games left to go.

Medina and Perry sit just outside at numbers nine and 10 respectively.

Division II, Region V

Copley, Tallmadge and Kent Roosevelt have spots in the top eight slots with a showdown between Copley and Tallmadge looming Friday at Copley.

Walsh Jesuit is on the outside looking in at the ninth spot as of right now.

Division II, Region VII

Lake currently has a hold on the No. 4 position for the playoffs, but controls their own destiny.

Division III, Region IX

Field (6-2) faces 6-2 Ravenna this Friday in a big match up for computer points.

Buchtel’s situation is simple:  they have a big game against 7-1 Toledo Central Catholic coming up this Friday.  Beat them and there is a substantial amount of computer points to be won. 

St. Vincent-St. Mary remains in line for the playoffs at the No. 6 spot, but you have to suspect that they must win out against University School and Youngstown Ursuline to remain in their current position.

Division IV, Region 13

Undefeated Manchester currently has a lock on a playoff spot. Canton Central Catholic, currently at No. 10 has a shot of getting in.

Division VI, Region 21

According to this post, Mogadore has already clinched a first round playoff home game. They sit atop computer rankings in this region.

This is not a glamorous game on paper in terms of the Portage Trail Conference Metro Division.

However, this game means a lot to the Rough Riders (5-2, 2-2). Long-time coach John Nemec seeks his 200th career victory.

Despite being 5-2, the Rough Riders need to win out to have a chance of reaching the post season playoffs and right now in the ninth spot in Division II, Region 5. Kent is one spot out of the playoffs, with Walsh Jesuit one spot ahead and ironically Ravenna, who just defeated the Rough Rider 28-14 a week ago, one spot behind them inn 10th, Division II is brutal wsih so mamy good teams fighing for the precious eight slots.

Kent quarterback Evan Shimensky ran well, but struggled mightily trying to pass in the second half against the Ravens. He needs to rebound and frankly the Rough Riders need to get the ball to Shakeel Howard more often than he did against the Ravens. 

The Spartans (2-5, 1-3) have been snake-bitten at times. Two weeks ago, the Spartans lost 35-34 on a missed extra point to division co-leader Field. Their defense needs to step up in this game, especially if Springfield want to finish at .500 for the season overall.

Dillon Mathews is an explosive rnning back. The junior had a 90-yard run at Field and when he is in the open field you can count on him scoring a touchdown – one of the best in the area, period.

Div. I, Region 2

Massillon, Canton McKinley and Perry currently reside in the elite eight with Medina at No. 9

Div. II, Region 5

Copley and Tallmadge continue to hold spots, the big mover is Walsh Jesuit who make it in at No. 8 primarily because of their win over St. Vincent-St. Mary.  Kent Roosevelt and Ravenna still have shots.

Div. III, Region 9

Field, St. V-M, Buchtel are in the top eight.  It’s apparent the Irish’s loss to Walsh didn’t hurt them too much.  Southeast and Streetsboro still have a shot.

Div. IV, Region 13

Manchester and Canton Central Catholic would be in if the season ended today.

Div. VI, Region 21

Mogadore comes in at the top spot

One of the best games of last season was the PTC showdown between Kent Roosevelt at Ravenna. The wild affair went to overtime when the Ravens, trailing by one converted a 2-point conversion to win 29-28.

This year’s rematch has a lot on the line tonight in Kent. In terms of the race for the Portage Trail Conference Metro Division, Ravenna is 3-0 and 4-2 overall and Kent Roosevelt is 2-1 and 5-1 overall, losing to the other 3-0 team in the division, Field.

Expect another high scoring affair. Ravenna has outscored its six opponents 200-80 and in three division games the Ravens have scored 124 points and given up seven. Kent Roosevelt has scored 223 points  and given up 104 in six games and outscored division opponents 110-53.

The Ravens don’t pass much as evidenced by Brandon Holt‘s numbers – 28-of-60 for 413 yards and five touchdowns. So its run D. J. Jones, run – to the tune of 975 yards (including a long of 75 yards) on 107 carries for a 9.1 yards per carry with 10 touchdowns. while Stephen Wilmington has 412 yards on 56 carries (7.4 yards per carry).

The Rough Riders are more diverse on offense. Quarterback Evan Shimensky has run for 497 yards on 79 carries (5.4 average) with four touchdowns, but the future Kent State University Golden Flash has thrown for 1,181 yards (80-of-113) with 16 touchdowns and just three interceptions. His has three good receivers with Rich Graves (30 catches, 475 yards and four TDs), Tony Britt (16 catches, 309 yards) and Nick Sacchini (11 catches, 140 yards).

Shakeel Howard is an explosive runner, running for 584 yards and five touchdowns and has 11 catches for 121 yards and five touchdowns.

Ravenna High School senior Lauren Tilden has committed to attend Mount Union College and continue her basketball career.

Tilden, a 5-foot-5 guard, was an All-Ohio, all-district and three-time all-conference selection for Ravenna coach Rod Chlysta. Tilden was named the 2009-10 Portage Trail Conference Metro Player of the Year and finished her career with 170 3-pointers made.

Tilden plans to study early childhood education at Mount Union.

Ravenna hosts Springfield tonight with a Portage Trail Conference Metro Division title and a possible state playoff appearance at stake.

The Ravens (7-2, 6-0) defeated Field 39-0 last week and currently are ninth in the Division II, Region 5 standings. The top eight teams in each region advance to the regional quarterfinals.

Ravenna assistant football coach Chuck Harris, who is in charge of the school’s athletic promotions, said there were several positives to come from the triumph over Field.

“We controlled the clock well, moved the ball effectively on the ground and reduced turnovers and penalties,” Harris said. “We also spread the ball around, getting the ball in the hands of five different running backs. Defensively, we moved to the ball well and were able to get another shutout.”

Ravenna senior running back Parnell Taylor rushed 21 times for 283 yards with his longest being 84 yards. He scored three touchdowns – one on a 90-yard kickoff return.

Ravens senior defensive linemen Dan McCoy had three solo tackles and assisted on six other tackles.

Harris knows Springfield (6-3, 4-2) will present quite a challenge tonight.

“Springfield has certainly turned things around and while their record doesn’t reflect it, we feel that they are a better team than their 6-3 record,” Harris said. “We cannot allow this team to hang around. In order for us to win this week’s game, we are going to have to score quickly and often while coming at them hard defensively.”