Rockvale Host Ravenwood, Raptors Claw Home Victors

Ravenwood hit the road with a "w", but both teams have much to improve after the Raptors won 48-44 Thursday evening. Rockvale could not score early, despite inspiring energy, while the guests sputtered in the second half.   "That is the style of play that we are going to bring to the district," foreshadowed Rockvale Head Coach Wendell Ingram. "We are going to score 60-70 points easily, if those shots are falling. My plan was to use subs a little bit more. Right then I was trying to get the nerves out of some of my players."   This is the best Rockvale team ever. Ok, yes, the school just opened in 2019. Expect a run at the District Championship, if this game is any harbinger.   The Raptors are somehow very sound again, a year after winning the program's first ever Regional Championship. Many seniors graduated and yet the RHS men executed crisply throughout the first half.   Rocket [player_tooltip player_id='1665187' first='Ty' last='Newton'] played in the first quarter, a quarter Rockvale narrowly lost 16-14, mostly the latter portion. For the sophomore to see time in a key early season matchup shows Coach Ingram's faith in the point guard.   Ravenwood worked a 3-2 zone defensively. It worked quite well at discouraging slashing and penetration. Rockvale showed that they don't have the consistent outside shooters to punish a 3-2 zone just yet. Newton missed an open wing three-pointer with 2:17 to play in the first half, for instance.   Rockvale senior Jakobe Tharpe (6'3") punished the iron halo with a quick dunk, snapping a Ravenwood scoring run in the process. Tharpe is listed as a power forward, and really plays that spot out of necessity.   Ravenwood is well-schooled. They managed to walk into the locker room up 30-17 at halftime break. The Raptors executed their defensive scheme wonderfully, with only a few hiccups blocking out. It can be tricky to block out when zoning because the assignment obviously become hazy.   Ravenwood #1 Brett Shelby* ('23) #4 Lamuno* ('24) #5 [player_tooltip player_id='1476192' first='Evan' last='Gainer']* ('24) #23 Will Brent* ('23) #30 Ethan Myers* ('23)   Rockvale #15 Jakobe Tharp* ('23) #22 [player_tooltip player_id='1665186' first='Markell' last='Sibert']* ('23) #24 [player_tooltip player_id='2789397' first='Malachi' last='Long']* ('25) #3 Antonio Ward* ('24) #11 Darryl Cotton* ('24) #2 [player_tooltip player_id='1665187' first='Ty' last='Newton'] ('25) [player_tooltip player_id='1236133' first='Imari' last='Dewberry'] ('25)   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/wcsRHSBball/status/1593374560631635970?s=20&t=gFmd3N8B1gZ4cw9cxpNIQA </div></figure>   The second half looked completely different, with Ravenwood a seemingly different team. Rockvale Coach Ingram saw some nervy play from his guys early.   "Malachi, once he got going, he had a good game. He even switched shoes at halftime, because he felt like it was the shoes," said Coach Ingram. "[[player_tooltip player_id='1665186' first='Markell' last='Sibert'] and Malachi] did very, very well for us."   Recruiting Buzz   [player_tooltip player_id='1665186' first='Markell' last='Sibert'] looks like a hidden gem. So springy. Active. Good wing size. "I had a couple of colleges reach out to him," said Coach Ingram. "He made a name for himself during the summer."   Sibert will win a few games with rebounding and defense this year. He can score too, but very few players in the district attack the glass more hungrily.   "He will play next level," said Coach Ingram. "He is about 6-foot-4. Can play the wing. Can defend. He is always trying to guard a guard. Once colleges start seeing him they are going to be really chasing him. I had Roane State and Johnson University ask for more film on him."   Tharpe ran the floor like a deer and demonstrated plenty of athleticism. Tharpe was unusually bouncy for a 4a post player. "About four days ago he signed D1 for track," said Coach Ingram. "He broke a state record for hurdles, a record that stood since 1941. He had offers from UT, Baylor, Auburn for track. He only played two games last year. He quit on the team as he and the coach would not get along. I know he is special. He could probably go and play JuCo somewhere, but he will go to Auburn for track, which isn't a bad deal at all."   [player_tooltip player_id='1476192' first='Evan' last='Gainer'] finished with 12 points to pace the Raptors. Brett Shelby managed 10 points while Ethan Myers and [player_tooltip player_id='1507449' first='Max' last='Kimpel'] each scored eight points.

Ravenwood hit the road with a "w", but both teams have much to improve after the Raptors won 48-44 Thursday evening. Rockvale could not score early, despite inspiring energy, while the guests sputtered in the second half.