Putting a bow on Ned Gonet’s Ravenscroft coaching farewell; Pinecrest makes history
In the summer of 1981, a little more than a year after Duke athletic director Tom Butters hired Mike Krzyzewski as the Blue Devils’ men’s basketball coach, Butters catalyzed Ravenscroft’s hiring of Ned Gonet, a former Blue Devils baseball player with a simple phone call.
Butters responded to an inquiry from then-Ravenscroft Head Of School Grover Smith, who needed to hire an athletic director and football coach two weeks before gridiron practices began. Butters recommended Gonet to Smith, who, in turn, left a message with Gonet’s parents, Edward and Mary, at the family’s Virginia home.
Gonet returned Smith’s telephone call, and the rest is history.
Gonet, who is stepping down as football coach after this season but will continue as the school’s athletics director, has been Ravenscroft’s lone football head coach during the tenures of seven U.S. Presidents, seven N.C. governors, and seven Raleigh mayors. Among Gonet’s 42 seasons, the Ravens have averaged approximately seven wins per campaign, and claimed five NCISAA state championships.
Ravenscroft (9-1) will visit North Raleigh Christian Friday with the Big East Conference championship at stake.
While Butters, Smith, and Edward Gonet watched Saturday’s dinner from their Heavenly homes, updated technology — a far cry from the old land-line telephones of 1981 — and familial connections ensured Mary Gonet was included. Sean Kelly, an Advancement Team member at his alma mater and son of Head Of School Doreen Kelly, was among those who facilitated the event live stream’s technical details.
Doreen Kelly — in her 20th year as Ravenscroft’s leader — is the sixth and longest-tenured Head Of School under whom Gonet has served. Between Smith and Kelly, Jim Hendrix, Paul Long, Jim Ledyard, and Ned Fox served, too, as Head Of School.
Ledyard’s son Brian — the quarterback of the Ravens’ 1994 state championship team — was among Saturday’s attendees. Earlier in the day, Gonet spoke at Jim Ledyard’s memorial service.
Will and Drake Hamlin — a father and son tandem who played for Gonet — were among the program’s speakers.
PINECREST WINS CONFERENCE TITLE
Pinecrest defeated host Hoke 35-12 to secure the Patriots’ first solo conference championship.
Pinecrest’s season-long offensive balance shone, again, as quarterback Mason Konen completed 11-of-17 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Hunter Neifert accumulated 100 receiving yards among four catches, two for touchdowns. On the ground, Zymaire Spencer rushed 11 times for 105 yards.
The Patriots’ Sandhills 3A/4A league title achievement is highlighted by the historical rarity of the same school earning wins over Richmond and Scotland in the same season.
ALEXANDER-RAYNOR MILESTONE
East Forsyth quarterback Jaylen Alexander-Raynor eclipsed season marks of 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the undefeated Eagles’ 26-0 shutout at rival Glenn that clinched the Central Piedmont 4A Conference championship.
Alexander-Raynor’s 121 passing yards and two touchdowns put him at 2,037 yards and 29 touchdowns this fall. He rushed for 215 yards and one touchdown at a 10 yards-per-carry clip, and now has 1,068 ground yards and 16 touchdowns.
WAKE FOREST CONTROLS DESTINY
Wake Forest defeated Rolesville 24-20 this past weekend to maintain control in the competitive Northern Athletic 4A Conference. The Cougars must defeat visiting Millbrook, felled previously by Rolesville, to secure the league championship.
Wake Forest allowed 30 points in last season’s three-point loss at Millbrook, which decided the league championship. The Cougars have surrendered 20 or fewer points in each game this fall.
CMS “THROWBACK”
The Queen City Athletic 3A/4A and Southwestern 4A conference championships’ roads will include familiar faces next Friday.
Mallard Creek, the 2013 and ‘14 4AA state champion, will host Chambers, which claimed division state titles in 2019 and the spring of 2021.
Independence, which won seven consecutive largest classification state championships (2000-06), will host Butler, the division’s 2009, ‘10, and ‘12 title winner.
45, 44, and 7
Shelby and Burns are set for this regular season’s culminating Cleveland County “clash” — with the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference championship at stake — Friday at Burns.
The visiting Golden Lions have scored 45 or more points in each league win, while the Bulldogs have scored 44. Both teams have yielded seven or fewer points in wins versus each of five other conference schools.
BUILT-IN BYE
New Bern defeated visiting Conley 49-0 Friday to complete a 10-0 regular season as Big Carolina 3A/4A Conference champions. The Bears, state semifinalists in the spring of 2021. will be idle next Friday, all the while being assured of a 4A state playoffs “tier one” seed among conference champions.
