ROCKY RIVER, Ohio – Pirate Football earned a 42-12 Homecoming victory over Normandy in Great Lakes Conference action on Friday night.
The Detroit Road Buccaneers sent a big and alumni-filled crowd home happy after a dominant performance – on offense, defense and special teams – on what was a beautiful night for gridiron action at Rocky River Stadium. The Rocky River offense scored touchdowns on each of its first five drives, and four of those scores were followed by suffocating performances by the Pirate defense. River would work itself to a 28-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and a 42-0 lead by halftime. The second half was a running-clock exchange of just three possessions a side, with Rocky River coaches working in playing time for players up and down the roster.
Sophomore quarterback Braedon Spies logged three touchdowns
passes in excess of 30 yards and four TD passes overall. Sophomore running back
Tommy Bebie rambled for 121 yards on just six carries. Senior wide receiver
Owen Bebie registered two TD receptions -- one of 65 yards, the other of 30.
Junior receiver Charlie Hudson hauled in TD passes of 50 and 10 yards. All were
part of a lightning-strike Pirate offense which rolled up 246 yards in the
first quarter and 356 yards for the game.
The River defense got monster first-half performances by James
Byall, Matt George, Ergi Sulce, and Zack Wagner. Swarming Pirate defenders
caused havoc in the offensive and defensive backfields and at every lateral
point along the line of scrimmage. They held the Invaders (0-5, 0-3 GLC) to
just 18 yards in the first quarter and 59 in the opening half. Two endgame
drives would lift the Normandy yardage total to 212.
The Pirates also created a special-teams touchdown on a 60-yard
Cristain Dean punt return in the second quarter.
With Friday’s victory, Rocky River (3-2, 2-2) is now 5-0 against Normandy since the two schools became GLC foes in 2015.
The Pirates will be at home again on Friday, Oct. 4, when
they host the Tallmadge Blue Devils in a non-conference affair.
CANNON FIRE …
O-LINE OH MY!: The River offensive line – Joe Riedl, Charles Sobol, Ergi Sulce, Connor Kashmarek, Aidan Coyne – did credible work Friday in keeping Braedon Spies upright to complete passes and in creating real estate for Tommy Bebie in the run game.
BACK HALF: Freshman quarterback Mack Massad spelled Spies in the second half. … Rocky River got solid second-half performances by David Rosenberg, Rees Vaughan, and Johnny Bebie.
BRIDGE OF SPIES: With his four TD tosses Friday, Braedon Spies has now thrown 12 on the season. Spies went into Friday’s game 44-of-80 (55%) for 752 yards. … Tommy Bebie’s performance marked his third 100-yard game of the season. … Charlie Hudson’s 10-yard TD catch at the 5:05 mark of the first quarter marked the first TD reception of his career. Hudson would double that total on a 50-yard play in River’s first drive of the second quarter.
STANDING (FOR) PAT: During Friday’s game, F-3 -- a national organization dedicated to invigorating male community leadership through small workout groups -- presented a $50,000 endowment to the Rocky River Education Foundation for the creation of the Patrick Green Memorial Scholarship. The former Pirate football standout passed away in June. The purpose of the scholarship is to sustain his memory and ensure his legacy of leadership and commitment to service. The scholarship will be awarded each year to an individual in the Rocky River school system who exemplifies those characteristics.
by Skip Snow
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