NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio -- In its Friday night game at North Olmsted, Rocky River failed to score on its first play from scrimmage. After that, just about everything went according to plan. And now, after a 41-27 triumph over the new-conference-member Eagles, the Pirates are making plans to play in the all-new Great Lakes Conference Championship Game.
[Game stats unavailable at time of publication.]
The Rocky River Pirates rode solid blocking up front, big running-back performances, key special-teams plays, and an opportunistic defense to the GLC West Division conquest on a rainy, breezy night in North Olmsted. The solid blocking and the dangerous ground game was on display early when senior running back Tommy Bebie bolted 74 yards to paydirt on the second play of the game.
Special teams got in on the act when a Braedon Spies punt pinned the Eagles back inside their 10-yard line late in the first quarter, with the score tied, 7-7. The River defense paid off that punt when Aiden Andrako recovered a North Olmsted fumble, setting up a Tommy Bebie TD run two plays later. Spies the defensive back picked off a pass later in the second quarter. Spies the quarterback capped off a short-field drive with a TD run shortly thereafter.
Punt, pass, and pick.
Rocky River (6-3, 5-0 GLC West) would run its lead to 28-7 courtesy of a Johnny Bebie touchdown run -- a 63-yarder -- before halftime. After that Bebie lightning came the thunder, and the game was delayed by weather for a bit during an extra-long halftime.
Tommy Bebie, who rushed for 111 yards in the opening half, rambled for a 40-yard TD to open scoring in the second half. The elder Bebie's third TD of the night lifted River to a 35-7 lead at the 8:58-mark of the third. The senior standout has now piled up eight rushing TDs over River's last three games.
Over the next 12 minutes of clock time, the Pirates exchanged 12 points for three. The three claimed by the visitors came via a 44-yard, rain-dodging Mack Massad field goal -- his sixth of the season -- and the Pirates went into the final eight minutes leading, 38-19.
A game Eagles (6-3, 3-2) squad continued to battle and managed one more TD against a second Massad field goal before the clock hit triple zeroes. The rest of the scoreboard read thusly: Rocky River 41, North Olmsted 27.
And now, the rest of the schedule reads thusly: the Rocky River Pirates are headed to Buckeye next Friday. For a contest called the Great Lakes Conference Championship Game. Because that's the way it was blocked, run, kicked, and defended. That's the way it was planned.
CANNON FIRE ...
ULTIMATE PENULTIMATE WEEK: The top three teams in each GLC division (East: Buckeye, Valley Forge, Holy Name; West: Rocky River, North Olmsted, Elyria Catholic) went into Friday's action still alive in the race for a division crown and the chance to play for the circuit title next Friday. ... The Pirates now head to the title game as champs of the West, with Buckeye to host as champs of the East. Both teams went 5-0 in divisional play. The Bucks sealed their East crown with a 24-21 win over Holy Name Friday.
3M: Mack Massad's seven field goals this fall are the most for a River kicker since Matt Goepfert went 9-of-12 in 2015. Massad has scored 55 points as a kicker; he has also scored on a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. Only Goepfert -- with 62 points in 2015 -- has scored more as a Pirate kicker in a single season.
BACK TO THE 40s: Rocky River has scored 40-plus points in three of its last four games and five times overall in 2021. Through nine games, the Pirates have averaged 34.3 points per game while allowing 19.2.
by Skip Snow
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