RAVENSWOOD - No. 1 ranked (Class AA) Ravenswood isn't the only Red Devil team looking to win a football championship this fall as the Ravenswood Middle School Demons will look to complete an unbeaten season and, in the process, capture a Little Kanawha Conference championship when they play host to Ritchie County at 6:30 p.m. today.
"This is the same conference that all of our schools play in," Ravenswood head coach Mick Price explained. "These are the same kids that they will be playing against for the next four years."
Ravenswood (8-0) got to the championship game by winning a West Division which included Parkersburg Catholic (36-0), Tyler Consolidated (32-6), Pleasants County (26-12) and Williamstown (40-14). The Demons have also recorded wins over Spencer (52-12), Poca (28-8), Point Pleasant (20-6) and Jackson County rival Ripley (38-6).
Looking to keep the Demons from winning that title will be the East Division champions-Ritchie County (7-1), which captured wins over Wirt County (21-19), Doddridge County (36-8), Calhoun County (46-6) and Gilmer County (34-0).
The Rebels' only loss came against Pleasants County (26-0) while they also own wins over Williamstown (13-12), Parkersburg Catholic (35-6) and Tyler Consolidated (18-0).
"Most of the kids that play on this team played last year when we went 1-7," said Price, who has served as the Red Devils' head boys basketball coach for years.
"They took their lumps, but they came back out this year and have really turned things around."
The Demons share more than just the school colors of red and black as several of their players have older brothers that play for head coach Dick Sturm and his staff-including Sturm's grandson Thomas Sturm.
"There is a lot of links between our team and the varsity," continued Price. "(Jonas) Jelich's twin brothers (Connor and Rhys) play for us as well as coach Sturm's grandson."
Those ties will be even greater should the Demons come out victorious in their first-ever LKC title game and the Red Devils run the tables during the remainder of the regular season and then go unbeaten in the playoffs.
