ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- The Tackle Football Pirates logged an impressive non-conference victory, as Rocky River defeated the Copley Indians, 35-7, on Friday night.

A commanding performance in all three phases of the game helped River reel in the wire-to-wire win in what marked the team's 2020 home finale. A lightning-fast start for the Pirates was ignited by a 51-yard pick-six by Tommy Bebie and a successful onside kick on the ensuing kickoff. Rocky River (6-2) jumped out to a 14-0 lead by the 8:19-mark of the first quarter, and the Pirates never looked back. A fired-up contingent of seniors playing at the Gridiron in the Heart of River for a final time keyed a dominant first-half performance that saw the Maroon & White register 10 first downs while allowing just two.

Adding to their defensive score, the Sons of Blackbeard rushed for two touchdowns (Tommy Bebie, Braedon Spies) and passed for two more (Spies to Stan Heuler, Spies to David Rosenberg) en route to building a 35-0 lead by halftime. Mack Massad and the kickoff unit twice gave the River offense a short field with which to work by pulling off successful onside recoveries. The Pirates capitalized on both. In between, the River offense was given another short field to play with when Wesely Yuen recovered an Indians fumble at the Copley 12-yard line. 

When the Pirate offense was called on for a downfield march of significance, it came through with flying colors. The Maroon & White registered a nine-play scoring drive (Spies 2-yard run) over the middle minutes of the second quarter. That particular push to paydirt was paved by center Joe Riedl, right guard Charlie Sobol, and left guard Wesley Yuen. Messrs. Riedl, Sobol, and Yuen were bracketed by Jackson Hermann and Aidan Coyne in providing big holes for running backs John and Tommy Bebie throughout the first half. 

The Pirates also came up with a pair of momentum daggers -- both on pass plays -- late in the first half. The first -- a nifty, well-blocked Spies to Stan Heuler pass -- came on the play immediately following Yuen's fumble recovery. The second was River's final score of the night: it came on the Spies-to-Rosenberg TD, which came at the 34-second mark of the second quarter. Rosenberg hauled in the Spies delivery some five yards downfield after a snap at the Copley 24. Breaking multiple tackles, the senior barreled his way down the right side of the field, desperately and determinedly avoiding the sideline. Rosenberg made it to the right pylon, pigskin -- and second career touchdown -- in tow.

For the game, Spies went 3-for-4 with 39 passing yards. His TD passes marked his sixth and seventh of the season; his rushing score marked his eighth. The multisport (baseball, basketball) junior athlete has now logged rushing touchdowns in four consecutive games.

Rocky River outgained Copley, 199 yards to 122. Half of the Indians' yards were notched on their final drive, a 12-play march in the fourth quarter. With a mercy-rule margin in place, the second half was played with a running clock.

The Bebie brothers combined for 149 yards on 27 carries. Junior Tommy garnered 88 yards on 16 totes; sophomore John registered 63 yards on 11 carries. Tommy Bebie's touchdowns marked his sixth and seventh of the season.

On defense, Tommy Bebie made a team-high nine tackles. John Sadiku (five tackles), Matthew George (four), Charlie Hudson (four), Wesley Yuen (four), Aiden Konet (four), John Bebie (three), and Stan Heuler (three) also turned in standout performances in a contest that saw River hold a team to 14 points-or-less for a sixth time in eight games.

Rocky River will close out its season with a Great Lakes Conference game against Valley Forge. The Pirates and Patriots will battle in a Thursday night (7 p.m.) tilt at Byers Field in Parma, Ohio.


CANNON FIRE ...

HOME, SWEET HOME: With its Friday night win against Copley (7-2), Rocky River went 4-1 over five home games in 2020. That performance marks a bounce-back for a program which went just 2-3 on Detroit Road a year ago. ... Friday's game marked the first gridiron meeting between River and Copley. The Indians are a DIII squad and a member of the Suburban League. Copley's seven wins thus far in 2020 mark the school's best single-season win total since 2016 (eight).

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: Through eight games, River has yielded just 11.8 points per game. That marks the program's would-be best single-season average since 1997 when a South West Conference champion Pirate team went 8-2 while allowing just 10.1 PPG.