ROCKY RIVER, Ohio – Rocky River’s defense was undone by a pair of lengthy Bay drives over the final 16 minutes of action, and Pirate fans witnessed a three-point deficit melt into a 34-17 defeat at the hands of the rival Rockets on Friday.
Leading 20-17 at the 3:22-mark of the third quarter, the Rockets (6-2, 5-2 Great Lakes Conference) culled together a 12-play, 73-yard drive ending in a 2-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Joe Galati. The 6-minute-and-42-second march to paydirt was comprised solely of running plays. A veteran offensive line paved the way to the Rockets taking a 27-17 lead. And for good measure, Bay ran its way to another long drive on its next possession – after blocking a Rocky River field-goal attempt – to effectively fire the final volley in the 2019 War by the Shore.
Junior tailback Nick Buttari scored from 6 yards out to post
that final score. Unofficially (individual stats unavailable at time of
publication), Buttari went over the 200-yard mark with that TD. Accounting
aside, Buttari was most certainly the engine in a Rocket running machine which
cranked out 322 yards on 31 carries.
The longtime, shoreline rivals split scores over the first
two possessions of the evening. Bay extended its lead to 13-6 on a short-field
drive midway through the second quarter. That drive was set up by an
interception followed by a lengthy return.
The Pirates (5-3, 3-3) would eventually find themselves on
the wrong side of a 20-6 score with just 82 seconds remaining in the first
half. Sophomore quarterback Braedon Spies then piled up 58 passing yards on a
71-yard drive capped off by a touchdown on a Spies-to-Owen Bebie 36-yarder.
River would go into halftime trailing, 20-14.
The Pirates opened the second half with a fine 14-play march
down the gridiron, but it would be a drive that stalled inside the Bay 5. River
settled for a 20-yard field goal and a three-point deficit (20-17) on the Rocky
River Stadium scoreboard.
Much of the rest of the game would be determined in the trenches.
The Pirates got gutty efforts down the stretch and throughout the game by linebacker
Matt George, defensive lineman Carlos Quinones, linebacker Tommy Bebie and
defensive back James Byall. Battles were won.
But not the War.
CANNON FIRE …
BAY GOES FOURTH: Bay prevailed for its fourth consecutive win in an 82-games series that dates to 1935. Bay’s streak is the longest in the War by the Shore since Rocky River won eight straight meetings from 2003-10. The Rockets now lead the all-time series, 43-36-3.
YARDSTICK: Bay tallied 322 rushing yards to River’s 70. The Rockets won the battle in total yards, 402-262.
by Skip Snow
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