Roosevelt to the Suburban

Most of you who know me know that I take an interest in high school sports. I wouldn't call it an obsession, but I do attend high school sporting events fairly regularly and keep tabs on the happenings in the high school sports world. Playing along with my history interests, I'm also interested in the history of high school sports, and was recently referenced in an article in the local Record-Courier about the long-standing rivalry between Theodore Roosevelt High School in Kent and Ravenna High School.

The biggest news recently, outside the Kent-Ravenna game this past weekend, was the announcement that Roosevelt will be leaving the Portage Trail Conference (PTC) and joining the Suburban League in all sports. The initial announcement said it would be in 2016, but seeing as every other school has indicated 2015, I won't be surprised to see that change for Roosevelt either. As the announcement has come about, I've noticed a lot of the same questions in comments, the biggest, of course, is why? Also, people are wondering about the rivalry with Ravenna.

First, in addressing why, the answer mainly lies in the issue of competitive balance. Money is somewhat of an issue, but not in terms of making more money, but rather spending less. Athletic conferences in Ohio are designed to make sure schools have regular scheduling partners who are of similar size and relatively close distance. The move from the PTC to the Suburban doesn't really represent much of a change in travel costs--in reality it will probably increase travel costs slightly--but it does represent a change in competitive balance.

The Suburban League, in its new configuration, will be set up the same way the PTC is: two divisions that are determined by a school's enrollment. As enrollment numbers change, a school's position can also change. In theory this works, but in reality, what I've seen so far is the break between the "big school" and "small school" divisions isn't usually that big, so the schools at the bottom of the "big school" division are often better suited for the "small school" division or vice versa. In the PTC, though, you have Roosevelt well ahead of any other school in enrollment. Typically, Roosevelt is around 1,300 students while the next largest school is around 900 (that can be Ravenna, Norton, Springfield, or Coventry, all of which are roughly the same size). Roosevelt is nearly twice the size of Crestwood and Field, which have about 700-750 students each. In the new Suburban League, the enrollments will be much closer. All of the schools in the "small school" division, of which Roosevelt will be a member, are between 900 and 1,300. Copley, Cloverleaf, Barberton, Highland, and Revere are all schools with over 1,000 students while Aurora and Tallmadge are both around 900.

Why does that matter? While having more students is no guarantee a school will always have better sports teams, mathematically, it means that in most years, they likely will. More students means a larger pool of talent. Sure, you'll always have smaller schools that buck the trend or that have a particularly talented group of athletes come through every so often. But in the long run, there is a much better chance that the large school will be more competitive more often. That is why the state divides sports into divisions based on enrollment, so more schools have the opportunity to play for state championships against similar schools.

In football, where there are 7 divisions now (the number of divisions depends on the sport), with the largest schools being Division I and the smallest in Division VII. Ohio uses a computer system to determine who makes the playoffs. Within each division are 4 regions and within those regions, the teams are given computer points. While winning always gets a team those valuable computer points, beating a team from a smaller division means you get less because the computer expects the larger school to beat the smaller school. This was most evident in 2010, when Roosevelt and Ravenna were both in Division II for football (which is not the case this year). Despite Ravenna beating Roosevelt head-to-head and winning the PTC Metro that year, Ravenna missed the playoffs, finishing 9th (top 8 qualify) just behind Roosevelt. Roosevelt's early-season wins over Division I Stow and Division II Kenston off-set Ravenna's wins over smaller schools by just the slightest, but enough to send one to the playoffs and not the other.

Those football points, right now, largely work against Roosevelt since it is the largest school in the PTC. This year and next, it will be the only Division II football school while the rest are all Division III. It's not an issue if the team goes 9-1 or 10-0 or even 8-2 (this year they are 4-1 thus far). But 7-3 and 6-4 records will look a lot better to the computers coming against fellow Division II schools like Copley and Barberton than they will against Division III schools like Crestwood and Field.

Another aspect of the size differential is the additional sports that don't have a home in the PTC. Roosevelt has almost 30 varsity teams. Boys volleyball, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls swimming & diving, girls golf, ice hockey, and girls field hockey all play in other leagues because not enough (or any) schools in the PTC have teams. Playing in other leagues increases transportation costs for most of the sports because the teams generally have to go outside the area of the PTC to find leagues to participate in. A move to the Suburban will find homes for most of the above listed sports, with the exception of ice hockey. Of the sports listed above, the only other PTC schools to have them are Crestwood with boys and girls swimming & diving and Southeast with a girls golf team.  For all the others, Roosevelt is the only PTC school to offer that sport.

So, what happens after this? The first question most people have is in regards to the rivalry with Ravenna. In the new Suburban League, Roosevelt will have 7 league games and 3 open spots for non-league games. I have to believe that Stow will remain one of those 3 (Stow is also joining the Suburban League, but will be in the large school division, so the game won't count as a league game) just because of the money aspect. Stow coming to Kent and especially Kent going to Stow is a huge money-maker for both schools' athletic departments, so I don't see it ending anytime soon as long as it remains competitive.

The same is largely true with the Ravenna game. It is still competitive and will likely remain a revenue-producer for both schools for some time. While the magnitude of the game may lessen by the schools not being in the same conference (meaning you won't have a game like 2011 that decided the PTC Metro title), there will always be the long-standing rivalry between the two communities regardless of whether or not it's a conference game.  The only way I could see the Kent-Ravenna rivalry ending is if it becomes non-competitive. Even if that would happen, it would likely take a very long period of domination by one school to bring an end to the football rivalry. In other sports, I think Roosevelt will continue to schedule Ravenna as non-league, again, because of the overall rivalry and the interest it generates. About the only change might be just one meeting in basketball each season instead of two, but anything is possible.

This move will affect other rivalries too. I would say a rivalry was definitely developing between Roosevelt and Field in several sports and also with Streetsboro, at least in boys basketball. I anticipate both of those rivalries will come to an end, though Streetsboro may remain a boys basketball non-league game (which it has been for a number of years and likely will be again this year since Streetsboro is back in the PTC County). I don't see Roosevelt scheduling Field in sports beyond Cross Country and Track if at all, which is how it used to be before the formation of the PTC.

Conversely, I definitely foresee a rivalry developing with Tallmadge. Right now, Tallmadge's big rival is Green, but Green is leaving the Suburban (which is what largely caused this all in the first place), plus Green isn't adjacent to Tallmadge like Kent is. While I don't see a rivalry with Tallmadge ever eclipsing Ravenna, I easily see it becoming a strong one, especially from the perspective of Tallmadge since they will have no true rival and if both remain competitive in football. Tallmadge and Roosevelt were longtime members of the old Metro League until 1990 and periodically play each other in boys basketball and a few other sports.

Barberton is another old rival that Roosevelt knows well. Barberton was a member of the old Metro League and then the WRC South, so it's only been 8 years since the two were league rivals. While there has never been a fierce rivalry with Barberton on the level of Ravenna or even Stow, there was clearly a rivalry between the two in their old Metro and WRC days, though seeing as the old Metro only had 5 teams at the time it finally merged to form the WRC, every team had a rivalry of sorts with the other. Barberton also has some of the most intense fans in the area (especially for basketball) and travels well. When the PTC was looking to expand about a year ago to replace Windham and East Canton, I was hoping Barberton would join, but the PTC ended up not expanding at all.

That leads to the next topic: what's next for the PTC? As I said, the PTC avoided expansion two years ago when Windham and East Canton announced they were leaving, mostly because there weren't a lot of viable alternatives. It's clear the PTC doesn't want any larger schools, but instead, seems to want to add smaller schools so that Southeast, Streetsboro, and Woodridge can all be bumped into the Metro Division. Right now, in addition to the gap between Roosevelt and the rest of the Metro, there is a noticeable gap between Southeast, Streetsboro, and Woodridge and the rest of the County Division. In other words, Roosevelt leaving may be a blessing in terms of organization and achieving the balance the PTC wants.

Two smaller schools in Geauga County, Cardinal and Berhshire, have already been mentioned as possibilities since those two are leaving the Chagrin Valley Conference soon and have expressed interest. Even if that happens, it still leaves one more opening. When the PTC debated replacing Windham and East Canton, 4 schools applied: Northwest in southern Summit County, St. Thomas Aquinas in Louisville, Lake Center Christian School, and Barberton. Barberton is off to the Suburban again, so they're obviously not in the picture, and Northwest would likely be in the Metro Division. Lake Center Christian would be the smallest school in the PTC, but they don't have a football team, which makes them rather unattractive. The problem St. Thomas Aquinas presents is that they're a private school, so my guess is that other PTC County Division schools would feel (and likely be) at a disadvantage against St. Thomas since St. Thomas can draw from a much wider pool of talent even if they have a similar-sized enrollment as other PTC County schools.

Although the PTC area is almost surrounded by smaller school districts, most of them are in conferences that are stable, so there is no pressing need to change affiliations. With that in mind, it may be difficult for the PTC to get back to 16 teams. They could still function at 15 and have the County with 7 and the Metro with 8. While less than ideal for scheduling, it is hardly impossible, and it would largely solve the enrollment disparity that currently exists in both divisions.

Overall, I hope it's obvious that I think this move is a good move for Roosevelt, the PTC, and the Suburban League. The Suburban League was having some enrollment disparities of its own, so this allows them to address that on both ends. For Roosevelt, it allows them to compete and associate with schools that are more similar than those in the PTC, not only in terms of enrollment, but also facilities, and gives more sports a home league. For the PTC, it allows them to also address the enrollment disparity in both divisions. People forget that Roosevelt wasn't in the initial wave of invitations that brought about the PTC from the old Portage County League. It was only after Roosevelt was faced with the option of staying in the old WRC and having to deal with increased travel costs and being the smallest school in the league that they pursued membership in the PTC. Had Barberton not left the WRC when it did, I don't think Roosevelt would've either.

Ravenna High Review

Front of the new Ravenna High School on August 14th

On Saturday Mom and I had a chance to attend the open house of the new Ravenna High School.  Two weeks prior (August 14) we attended the open house of the old Ravenna High School along Clinton Street, a building I had only been in a part of.  I enjoyed seeing it, particularly the old section, which opened in 1923, one year after the Davey building in Kent (which was the first home of Roosevelt High School).  It was interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two buildings in terms of layout and style.  One thing I can say for sure, the historical account that the old Ravenna High School had a "1,000 seat auditorium" was a gross exaggeration by the Ravenna Republican in 1923.   Mom and I counted 399 seats in there and it wasn't like there were large sections with seats missing.  While it may have held more with a tighter seating configuration (the seats were obviously not original; I'd love to see a picture inside it when new), the space would only allow for a few dozen more seats, maybe 100 more with effort.  It certainly wasn't 1,000 or even 500.  Despite that, it's a figure that keeps getting repeated over and over in articles about the school opening.

Old Ravenna High School, which dates to 1923,
back in September 2009

Well, out with the old!  The new building is pretty nice, as it should be for something that cost $29 million and was several years in the making.  I'm not someone who is easily impressed, though, so I can't say it totally blew me away with ingenuity or design.  The outside tries to evoke a more classic look with some arched windows, an older roofline, and even a few decorations (little concrete "R"s along the outer walls).  I can go for that, though even as much as I like windows, I thought the main entrance by the cafeteria was a bit too much glass.  I definitely did like seeing lots of windows in the building, though disappointed those windows only had small openings.  I also liked seeing the use of skylights, though they weren't direct skylights.  If you stood under and looked up you can see light but not the sky as the opening is not perpendicular with the viewer.  It allows for some natural light, which is definitely a plus, but I'd prefer to be able to look up and see sky!

The layout works.  Basically all the classes that use atypical spaces like music, theater, physical education, and the cafeteria are all located on one end of the building.  The other side of the building is divided into three hallways separated by two long courtyards and then the library is on the far end of that, kind of like a keystone.  Stanton Middle School in Kent has a similar layout in terms of having the typical classrooms on one side and the "specials" on the other.  Ravenna High School reminded me of a claw when I first saw the layout.  It's also all on one floor; the only actual staircase in the entire building is outside the field house gym.  It goes up to an elevated track that I will address later.

There were definitely elements that made it clear the state had a role in its design.  For one, the school is designed to hold 850 students, which is right about what the school's enrollment is.  The state never designs a school that is bigger than it needs to be or plans for growth, so it has JUST enough room; it fits like a glove.  Stanton Middle School, on the other hand, which has about 800 students itself, is actually designed to hold 1,200.  Guess how much role the state had in designing that school.  Yep.  None.  That said, it still seemed to fit what Ravenna needed and had a few extras thrown in.  The deal to build this involved the district passing a bond issue and then the state paid about 50% ($13.6 million) of the costs and the bond issue the rest.  The bond issue also covered the "extras" the state won't cover: an extra gym and an actual auditorium.  When I was student teaching at Southeast Middle School, I got to see firsthand what a state-funded school looks like.  It wasn't bad at all, but the "audteria" was an absolute joke and the gym was pretty small.  Stanton has an auditeria which I've detested since it was built, but it was WAAAAY better than the sorry excuse for a performance area Southeast had.  It was totally non-funtional for anything like concerts or drama.  Even assemblies weren't that suitable as only one grade could fit at a time.

Now to the elements I really went looking for.  I definitely wanted to see the new auditorium.  I also wanted to see the "field house" gym and the main gym, plus I made sure to see the music rooms.  As someone who enjoys architecture (if I hadn't been a music major I would've been an architecture major) I always enjoy seeing new buildings and different styles.

The field house was the element I thought was best in the school.  Not only does it have the elevated walking track, but it has enough space to have two full basketball courts (which are marked).  The floor is a rubberized surface, so it bounces a little when you walk on it.  I also liked the use of windows, though was a tad disappointed they are translucent.  I'm not a big fan of translucent windows unless they're needed (like a bathroom).  Why not make them clear so people can see outside?  Anyway, overall I really liked it.  I have long wished Kent would get something similar (though larger) at the high school, so I enjoyed being able to see an example of one.  The last one of these I saw was at Avon Lake High School and it was under construction.  I thought it was an excellent idea!

Interior view of the "field house gym".  On the left are entrances to locker rooms and a physical education classroom.

The auditorium was a disappointment to me.  Sure, it's WAAAAAY better than the ancient Greek stage they had at the old building, but there are things that I was scratching my head as to why they weren't included.  The first thing that surprised me was the seating capacity.  All along they've been saying it will seat 900.  Technically, it does seat about 900, but that's only after expandable seating is added.  Most of the time it will seat about 600.  The expandable seating is a section of retractable chairs in the back that slides back into the cafeteria when being used.  This is a problem mostly for sound as it will open the back up and not provide a back wall or close ceiling for sound to bounce off, plus when it isn't open, there's a huge curtain covering the extra seats which will absorb sound.  The other thing that surprised me was the lack of a fly system on stage.  Everything is suspended permanently from the ceiling.  That greatly limits the theatrical capabilities of the stage (we were pretty upset when Stanton was built and it didn't have a fly system after having one at Davey).  The stage is a good size, but lacks that fly system and I wasn't too thrilled with the flooring (seemed like laminated black particle board, which I saw used at Davey after it was renovated).  All in all, a huge improvement on what they had, but this thing still can't hold a candle to Roosevelt's auditorium.

Not the best picture.  Oh how I wish I had my brother's D90 here!  You can kind of see the curtains in the back that hide the retractable seating.  The line of light near the top of the picture is the gap between the ceiling and the removable wall separating the auditorium and cafeteria that is removed when the extra seating is used.

This is a picture from page A9 of the August 29 Record-Courier.  You can see the back section open here.  The pitched roof visible above the back section is actually the outer wall and ceiling of the cafeteria, several feet behind the the back wall of the auditorium

The gym was nice, but nothing that blew me away.  I definitely liked the large windows on two sides, but like the field house, was disappointed they were translucent.  The new gym, again, is WAY better than what they had, though, so it will be nice for them.  The coolest feature I had never seen before was a retractable volleyball net.  Instead of having it set up with poles in the floor, it is suspended in the ceiling and folds up, much like extra basketball hoops.  The gym also has plenty of room to get around and made extra space for the teams to sit in apart from the bleachers.  It will definitely not be as tight as the old one!

I'm assuming this will be the "home" side of the bleachers.  In the top center you can kind of make out the suspended volleyball net with the ref's stand visible (round thing).

Other side of the gym where the teams and likely the visitors will sit.  The teams will sit in front of the railings which makes it easier to get around than at the "old school" type gyms where players sit on the first row of bleachers.  The only problem I see is the railings might be a bit too high for people sitting in the front row...

The choir room was a lot smaller than I thought it would be.  I know Ravenna is a smaller school than Roosevelt, but not THAT much smaller.  It must've been half the size or less than what we have here and the only risers in the room were the ones that are used for concerts (that you stand on).  Maybe it was in "display mode" but it didn't look like a good setup and certainly limited how many people can be in choir.  The band room looked like a good size.  The setup of the music rooms reminded me a lot of how they are at Stanton with practice rooms in between the band and choir rooms.  The cafeteria also struck me as smaller than I thought it would be.  Like many things, it's WAY better than at the old high school (I was literally stunned how small the cafeteria was at the old building), but I guess I expected it to be a little bigger.  Oh well, maybe I have a false idea of how big it needs to be?  :)

Definitely not a horrible setup, but this seemed a bit small for me, especially hearing that Ravenna has some large choirs.  I do prefer risers that have places for everyone to sit.

Another view of the choir room from behind the risers.  Apparently the piano has not arrived yet!

It's definitely a building that the people of Ravenna can be proud of in the end.  It is very bright and modern and has plenty of technology available to enhance the learning experience.  It's a huge step up from the old building, even with all the memories attached to that place.  I hope Ravenna students take pride in their building and keep it nice!

Roosevelt named a "Best High School" by US News

After the bad news a few weeks ago, it was definitely nice to pick up the newspaper and see this on the front page of the December 12 Record-Courier:

Yes, Roosevelt was named in the US News & World Report 2010 "America's Best High Schools" issue. Like with any ranking system for something so large (21,786 high schools analyzed), when looking over it, one must look at the methodology behind the study. Why is it one of the best? Based on what? For instance, Newsweek released their own "Best High Schools" list a few months ago and Roosevelt was nowhere to be found. Why? Because Newsweek's study focused on AP scores and how many students took AP classes at a given school. As a result, what I call the typical "heavyweights" -- the local high schools that typically do well on standardized tests and are in communities with higher median incomes -- were well represented in that ranking. These are places like Shaker Heights, Chagrin Falls, Solon, Hudson, etc. They are usually regarded quite highly educationally and for good reason: they have excellent facilities, more educational opportunities and resources, and many, if not most, of the students come from wealthier and highly educated backgrounds and largely stable families. In other words, it is more likely for these schools to not only have a larger percentage of students who take AP (Advanced Placement) classes, but do well on the tests associated with them. In the US News study, however, none of the traditional "heavyweights" made the list at all as it focused on other factors such as looking at the performance of students classified as "economically disadvantaged" and minorities. Roosevelt was one of only 8 schools in the region to make the entire list, and one of only 46 to be listed in the entire state. Roosevelt's ranking was a "Bronze Medal", the third highest ranking after the Gold Medal (top 100) and Silver Medal (461 schools). 1,189 schools in 48 states and Washington, DC were rated as "Bronze Medal" schools. What that means is that of the three major criteria used, Roosevelt did well in two. The other criterion, in this case, was either too low or not measured. Basically, Roosevelt did well when the magazine analyzed it's state proficiency test scores for low-income and minority students. Roosevelt is a somewhat diverse school, but is still predominantly white (87% from US News, 82% from the state of Ohio). To see the entire methodology explanation for this study, click here. The third criterion was based on AP scores and percentage of students who take AP or similar college-level classes (I personally think AP classes are harder than typical college classes). Roosevelt has eight AP classes available and usually does well on AP tests, but I would imagine the percentage of seniors who take them may have been what hurt there. It's not abnormally low, but compared to the schools that made the top 100, it probably isn't all that impressive. There are, of course, a lot of factors as to why certain students take AP classes and how well they do, many of which have little to do with the school itself.

One statistic that stood out to me was 84% of Roosevelt students classified as "economically disadvantaged." I'd first like to know what US News means by "economically disadvantaged" since that just seems a little high to me. Granted, there are a lot of students here who are poor, but there are also quite a few who are either middle class and even upper middle class. It's really quite a mix in Kent not only with race and ethnicity, but also financial status. The state, for instance, had only 26% of Roosevelt's students classified as "economically disadvantaged" according to the most recent state report card (it also had slightly different racial percentages, but not that much different). Obviously, there are two very different definitions and thresholds being used here.

That said, I've always felt Kent City Schools overall has done a good job in closing the gap between the students who come to school with a strong educational background and those who do not for whatever reasons. The state report cards always have Roosevelt doing as well as any of the other high schools in the area that come from districts rated "Excellent." Because of test scores at the elementary schools, Kent is rated "Effective," again because they typically have to play "catch up" for so many students. Holden Elementary School, for example, has 62% of its students classified as "economically disadvantaged" by the state and many come from very poor and unstable families. And yet, by high school, Kent students are right up there on the state test scores with students at other high schools who come largely from more stable and in many cases wealthier families. About 10 years ago, the Cincinnati Enquirer did a study and ranked Kent best in the state when actual test scores were compared with expected test scores, based on socioeconomic status. While a person's financial status doesn't guarantee a specific educational outcome, we do know it has a significant influence on a large amount of people. In other words, it is more likely for a student who comes from a poor, unstable home to not do well in school than it is for someone who comes from a better-off and stable home. And there are *always* exceptions, for sure, both good and bad. And no, standardized test scores are by no means a "tell-all" stat, nor are the state report cards. They tell just part of what is going on at a school.

Even then, it is still exciting for an outside group, particularly one at the national level, to recognize your school for anything positive like this. As an alum and community member and now as an employee, I'm very proud of my alma mater! Go Kent!

See also:

• Roosevelt 2008-2009 State Report Card
• Roosevelt profile at USNews.com
• Cleveland.com/Plain Dealer article...totally different perspective!
  

Oh, and seeing the following on the top of the same front page and in the sports section didn't hurt either. :) It's an appropriate title given the fact that in sports this year, Roosevelt has won every meeting between the two schools in every sport except the one-point overtime loss in football.

Rah Rah for Roosevelt!

Of course its always nice to win a rivalry game, but even more so when it means something beyond local bragging rights. Tonight I attended the Roosevelt vs. Ravenna game at Roosevelt Stadium in Kent. Both teams came in at 3-0 in the Portage Trail Conference (PTC) Metro division, so whoever won would seemingly be on their way to a division championship. It seemed like everyone was picking Ravenna, at least as far as the local newspapers were concerned. Both have their "pigskin picks" and the Record-Courier panel had all but one of the 7 voting sportswriters choosing Ravenna to win and then the Akron Beacon-Journal did a video where they talked about their picks for select games of importance and they all said that Ravenna's offense would be too much for Roosevelt. The Cleveland Plain Dealer also picked Ravenna. I felt good about Roosevelt's chances because Roosevelt has had an excellent defense all year, including two shutouts. One of those shutouts was last week at Southeast (42-0), a team that put 34 points on Ravenna the week prior and led for most of that game before Ravenna pulled away for a 52-34 win. As I mentioned in a previous post, Roosevelt has a really fast defense, and I felt it would be able to hold against Ravenna. Whenever you have a good defense against a good offense, usually the defense prevails, at least in my football-watching experience.

Well, I arrived during halftime as I first had to attend a mini-conference for music education in nearby Streetsboro. I was a little disappointed when I found out earlier this week that the conference conflicted with the game. Friday night football is one of the things I really enjoy doing, so it's frustrating when other things interfere with it, but even more so when it's a big game like this! Anyway, I went to the first session of the conference and will attend 3 sessions tomorrow as well (it was quite a workout doing different folk dances we can use in music classes!). So, I arrived at halftime with Roosevelt up 13-9. I would find out later that Roosevelt initially led 13-0 before Ravenna got on the board with a touchdown and field goal. In the second half, the Ravens added another field goal to get within 13-12, but had ample opportunities to take the lead. Both teams had a lot of penalties (15 total for 152 yards...ouch!), but especially Roosevelt. There was one point they had a second-and-42 or something like that. But, Roosevelt's defense also had five interceptions, and I believe three were in the second half. Most of the second half Ravenna didn't punt, not because they were moving the ball, but mostly because they kept throwing interceptions. I know people will say Ravenna played poorly in that regard, but you have to give the defense credit for interceptions as much as poor offensive execution. Many of the interceptions were the result of the quarterback being under pressure as well as good coverage of receivers. Some were poor decisions by the QB of course too. Anyway, Roosevelt got a long kickoff return right after Ravenna got within 13-12 and was aided by a personal foul later to keep a drive alive and ended up scoring again to make it 19-12 (the point after was tipped and missed). That ended up being the final score as Roosevelt couldn't move forward with the ball (they would have a second-and-38 at one point late in the 4th due to consecutive penalties) and Ravenna couldn't move much either against the Roosevelt defense and then would throw an interception. So, with that game in hand, Roosevelt has three games left against teams they should beat, well, at least on paper. The teams they are playing (Springfield, Crestwood, and Norton) currently have a combined record of 2-19.

It was nice to see such a large crowd from both sides. The stands themselves were pretty full. It's pretty rare to see the visitors stands full for any game, but they were pretty full tonight, which didn't surprise me at all. In reality, there were way more people than the stadium can hold since so many, especially students, just hang around on the grounds or stand around the fence surrounding the track. Roosevelt Stadium probably holds around 5-6,000 people for seating and I would guess there were close to 7,000 people there, though I really don't know.

The rivalry with Ravenna is an old rivalry. It goes back to 1922, which was the first year that Roosevelt was called Roosevelt (before then it was just Kent High School). Since then the two schools have played 86 times counting tonight's game, with Roosevelt holding a 44-41-1 lead in the series. The rivalry between Kent and Ravenna goes WAAAAAY back though, long before 1922. It pretty much goes back to the very beginning when the two cities were first being settled; Ravenna in 1799 and Kent in 1805. In 1807 it was announced a new county, Portage County, was being formed. Competition between the two tiny settlements began as Ravenna founder Benjamin Tappan and Kent (Franklin Township) proprietor Aaron Olmstead both pushed to have their settlements named the county seat. Although it seemed that Olmstead was going to secure the county seat for his settlement (which he did not ever actually live in), he died before the land he had set aside for the county seat could be donated to the cause and his heirs used the land, located near what is now Standing Rock Cemetary across from Roosevelt High School. Ravenna ended up being the county seat. As the two towns slowly grew, they were in constant competition for settlers and businesses. In fact, the namesake of the city of Kent, Marvin Kent, was actually born in Ravenna and came to what was then Franklin Mills in the 1850's with his father Zenas. In fact, local historian and Record-Courier editor Roger Di Paolo did an article not too long ago that talked about how Zenas Kent came to Franklin Mills from Ravenna after he had a falling-out with another Ravenna businessman. ""It is said that he declared he would live to see grass growing in the streets (of Ravenna)," historian E.Y. Lacey wrote in a 1933 account in the Evening Record, "and he set about to make his word good" by turning his interests to the tiny settlement of Franklin Mills, which was located west of Ravenna."

Ravenna and Kent would compete throughout the 20th century for the title of the county's largest city as each city seemed to pass each other back and forth. They were also both among 20 competing sites for the location of a new northeastern Ohio state normal school in 1910. Kent would end up being chosen and it was said the Ravenna delegation knew their bid was doomed when the state delegation arrived 4 hours late to tour Ravenna's proposed site for the new school. In the history of Kent State it says:

"The Ravenna welcoming committee had been waiting, with mounting anxiety, for four hours when three cars braked in front of the city hotel and the five commissioners climbed out, along with some familiar Kent faces, all smiling and laughing. The Ravenna men knew in their bones that they had missed their lunch and wasted four hours—all for nothing: the normal school would not be coming to their town. And they were right, though the commissioners did not make their final decision until after paying a surprise visit, on November 12, to the fifty-three-acre Kent Farm."

Of course this normal school evolved into Kent State University and started out pretty small, but is now Ohio's third largest university. By the end of the 1950's, Kent State's growth began to really fuel growth in Kent and so the population battle between the two cities effectively ended. Today, Kent is the county's largest city at around 28,000 residents while Ravenna has just under 12,000 and is actually now the county's 4th largest city behind Aurora and Streetsboro (though it should be noted that both Aurora and Streetsboro incorportated their entire former township. If Kent and Ravenna did the same thing, then they would have close to 20,000 residents in Ravenna and over 34,000 in Kent.). Because Kent is the larger city, Roosevelt is also, naturally, a larger school by about 500 students. In fact, there are only a few sports where Roosevelt and Ravenna are actually in the same state size division, which varies by sport (football, for instance, is divided into 6 size divisions based on enrollment while basketball is divided into 4). In football, Roosevelt is part of Ohio's division II and Ravenna is division III (in Ohio division I is the biggest schools, down to division VI). What that means is that in theory, both Roosevelt and Ravenna could win state titles in the same year since each enrollment division crowns a state champion. This year, they are both on track to qualify for the state playoffs in their respective division's regions, which would mark the first time that both would be in the playoffs at the same time.