RIPLEY - Ancient rivals Ravenswood and Ripley have squared off 77 times on the football field since 1918. Few of those matchups could have been more entertaining than Ripley's 10-7 victory on Friday.

The Vikings prevailed in a defensive battle between two playoff-bound teams from Jackson County to close within one victory of evening the all-time series, which is led by Ravenswood 37-36-4.

Ripley (8-2), which entered the game ranked ninth in Class AAA, will be involved in postseason play for the first time since 2002. Ravenswood, which was tied for fifth in Class AA, will also take an 8-2 record into the playoffs.

"This is huge to go into the playoffs on a positive note," said Ripley coach Jimmy Frashier. "Ravenswood came to play. That's as good as I've seen them play all year. They're going to be hard to beat if they play like that in the playoffs.

"I give our guys credit, too," Frashier added. "They kept coming and coming and made some big plays."

It was a scoreless, multi-punt first half, with Ravenswood missing on a pair of field-goal attempts from 34 and 22 yards.

The first score of the game was set up by the Ripley defense. Kyle Harpold's quarterback sack led to a fumble recovery by David Heis to give the Vikings possession at the Ravenswood 29. Seth Hamrick scored soon thereafter on a 24-yard run with 10:32 remaining.

Ravenswood speedster Luke Corley immediately put his team back in the hunt, however, with a 78-yard return of the ensuing kickoff to the 5-yard line. Fullback Chad Small bulled his way into the end zone three plays later, tying the game at 7-7 with 8:50 left.

Ripley put together one of its few sustained drives of the game, moving from its own 26 to the Red Devil 5 before Justin Sorrell kicked what proved to be a game-winning 22-yard field goal with at the 3:02 mark of the fourth quarter.

The Red Devils' hopes for a comeback ended when Viking Scotty Ullom got his second interception of the game.

Ravenswood, which played much of the second half without injured quarterback Cole Starcher, had a slim 237-225 edge in total offense. Starcher connected on 7-of-10 passes for 100 yards. Corley had four catches for 54 yards, and Bobby Rymer caught two passes for 44 yards.

In winning The Hatchet for the third straight year, Ripley got 118 yards on 18 Seth Hamrick carries. Ronnie Mullins, Adam Rutter and Ullom each ran for 35 yards.

RIPLEY - Ancient rivals Ravenswood and Ripley have squared off 77 times on the football field since 1918. Few of those matchups could have been more entertaining than Ripley's 10-7 victory on Friday.

The Vikings prevailed in a defensive battle between two playoff-bound teams from Jackson County to close within one victory of evening the all-time series, which is led by Ravenswood 37-36-4.

Ripley (8-2), which entered the game ranked ninth in Class AAA, will be involved in postseason play for the first time since 2002. Ravenswood, which was tied for fifth in Class AA, will also take an 8-2 record into the playoffs.

"This is huge to go into the playoffs on a positive note," said Ripley coach Jimmy Frashier. "Ravenswood came to play. That's as good as I've seen them play all year. They're going to be hard to beat if they play like that in the playoffs.

"I give our guys credit, too," Frashier added. "They kept coming and coming and made some big plays."

It was a scoreless, multi-punt first half, with Ravenswood missing on a pair of field-goal attempts from 34 and 22 yards.

The first score of the game was set up by the Ripley defense. Kyle Harpold's quarterback sack led to a fumble recovery by David Heis to give the Vikings possession at the Ravenswood 29. Seth Hamrick scored soon thereafter on a 24-yard run with 10:32 remaining.

Ravenswood speedster Luke Corley immediately put his team back in the hunt, however, with a 78-yard return of the ensuing kickoff to the 5-yard line. Fullback Chad Small bulled his way into the end zone three plays later, tying the game at 7-7 with 8:50 left.

Ripley put together one of its few sustained drives of the game, moving from its own 26 to the Red Devil 5 before Justin Sorrell kicked what proved to be a game-winning 22-yard field goal with at the 3:02 mark of the fourth quarter.

The Red Devils' hopes for a comeback ended when Viking Scotty Ullom got his second interception of the game.

Ravenswood, which played much of the second half without injured quarterback Cole Starcher, had a slim 237-225 edge in total offense. Starcher connected on 7-of-10 passes for 100 yards. Corley had four catches for 54 yards, and Bobby Rymer caught two passes for 44 yards.

In winning The Hatchet for the third straight year, Ripley got 118 yards on 18 Seth Hamrick carries. Ronnie Mullins, Adam Rutter and Ullom each ran for 35 yards.