It took them more than a quarter Nov. 1 to really get into high gear. But once they did, the Lake Catholic Cougars showed the rest of the competition in Division IV, Region 13, why they were seeded first in the region. The Cougars scored 35 points after the first quarter and rolled past the 16th seeded Ravenna Ravens, 42-14, at Nick Carter Stadium at North. The Cougars are 11-0. Ravenna’s season ends at 4-7. Lake got touchdowns from six players and played dominant defense from beginning to end. The Cougars meet Mogadore Field in a second-round playoff game Nov. 8 at a site to be determined. “We’re a little banged up and stuff, so we’re just trying to get guys healthy,” Lake Catholic coach Marty Gibbons said after the game. “We’re going to be all right. We still have some work to do. We want to keep getting better. We had some pre-snap penalties we want to clean up.” The game could not have started better for the Cougars. Lake kicked off and on Ravenna’s first play from scrimmage, the Cougars forced a fumble. Jimmy Gibbons recovered the ball and the Cougars wasted no time in turning the takeaway into an eight-yard touchdown pass from Frankie Trinetti to senior wide receiver Patrick Radigan. Great start for Lake Catholic. Jimmy Gibbons recovered a fumble by Ravenna on the first play of the game. The Cougars capitalized on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Frankie Trinetti to Patrick Radigan. @NHPreps @LCCougarFB pic.twitter.com/GVr6Ind6tj — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) November 1, 2024 The rest of the first half did not go as smoothly, but that was more because of penalties committed by the Cougars than because of anything the Ravens did to stop them. Two second-quarter Lake Catholic touchdowns, one on a running play and one a pass by Trinetti, were wiped out by holding penalties, but even with those mistakes the Cougars made enough big plays to take a 21-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. Frankie Trinetti finds Cross Nimmo in the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown pass and a 21-0 Lake Catholic lead over Ravenna with 23 seconds left in the first half. That is the halftime score in this Div. IV, Region 13 playoff game. pic.twitter.com/jQmaP77XtU — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) November 2, 2024 Ravenna took possession after a missed field goal attempt by Lake’s Harley Forkins and the Cougars’ defense, so dominant in the regular season with 12 interceptions, once again made a game-swinging play. And this time they didn’t leave it up to the offense to score. The pass rush put pressure on Ravens quarterback CJ Ross. Ross threw off his back foot and as he did, Cross Nimmo timed his jump perfectly to deflect Ross’ pass. Lake senior defensive lineman Jack Gagala caught the deflection at the Ravenna 10 and dashed to the end zone for a 14-0 lead with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. “I thought our defense played a great game,” Gibbons said. “Our defense came out hot right away. That’s what we needed. “Our kids came out and played hard. They played to our standard. I thought our offensive line did a pretty solid job overall, but the defense was phenomenal.” A seven-yard touchdown pass from Trinetti to Nimmo with 23 seconds left in the half increased the lead to 21-0 with the help of Forkins’ third extra point of the night. Forkins was a perfect 6-for-6 on PATs. Little drama remained after Nimmo scored just before halftime, but if there was any hope for a miracle comeback on the Ravenna sideline, it vanished like yesterday’s paycheck when Nick Biondolillo fielded the second-half kickoff at the Lake 20 and, with the help of superb blocking, raced to the end zone for a 28-0 lead. Caden Boyce, Lake’s leading rusher with 80 yards on 16 carries, scored on a four-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Trinetti hit DJ Sears on a 25-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter for Lake Catholic’s sixth and final touchdown. THE SCORE Lake Catholic 42, Ravenna 14