ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Aug. 18, 2023) -- High school football in the Buckeye State got underway Friday. On the north coast, Rocky River got a bit of autumn weather on a summer night, and a large enthusiastic crowd at Rocky River Stadium enjoyed not only the fine weather conditions but a 55-42 Pirate win over the visiting Harvey Red Raiders.
What was a chamber-of-commerce evening under clear skies developed into a chamber of horrors for the defensive coaching staffs. Both offenses got cranking early, but no one was busier than longtime Rocky River Stadium scoreboard operator Joyce Lampp. Lampp, working her 21st River season opener, had scoreboard digits flipping frequently enough as to perhaps be a fit for a Pirate basketball game at Rocky River Gymnasium.
The Pirates and Red Raiders --combatants on the gridiron for the first time Friday -- combined for 27 points in the first quarter and 27 more in the second. When senior quarterback Julian Patti connected with senior wide receiver Ryan Ricketti on an 18-yard touchdown at the 5:37-mark of the third quarter, Rocky River (1-0) had built a two-score lead. Things would slow, at least a bit, after that TD.
The River score -- on Patti's fifth TD pass of the night -- gave the home side a little cushion in a contest that had already had five ties and lead changes. That score was the second of what would end up as a run of four straight for the Sons of Blackbeard. The end of that run had the Double-R up 48-26. But the game hadn't always been shaded that way.
When Harvey quarterback Cavon Wise connected with Trent Hull on a 27-yard touchdown on the last play of the first quarter, the Red Raiders had managed three straight scores and were up 20-7. Much of Harvey's first-quarter success was built its running game. The Raiders gashed the River defense on the ground early. The Pirates would later bottle up Harvey rushers as part of the Maroon & White overtaking the lead and then maintaining it.
"We had to deal with adversity early going down two scores," said coach Josh Wells, who opened his ninth season as Rocky River. "Our kids were resilient and were able to battle back."
In the second quarter, the Double-R got back into the game on touchdown passes at 10:26 (Patti to Rowan McDougal) and 6:35 (Patti to Oran Grieve). The Grieve TD came on a key third-down conversion, and it vaulted the Buccaneers to a 21-20 lead. That lead was short-lived: the Pirates committed a sloppy turnover on their next possession; Harvey punched in a 21-yard run to retake the lead 26-21 at the 2:20-mark of the second.
The first Patti-Ricketti-6-point connection -- the front end of River's four straight scores -- came next. The second half of the game would play out in slower, less frenetic fashion, and the Pirates mostly commanded the scoreboard the rest of the way. Rocky River exchanged one of its touchdowns for two of Harvey's over the final five minutes of play, and that made for a closer final score than what showed in a marathon, three-hour exchange of football plays.
That exchange of plays resulted in 574 total yards for Rocky River and 395 for Harvey. River's defense, to its credit, held the Raiders to just 19.2 yards per drive after being torched for 203 yards over Harvey's first three possessions.
The Double-R defense was led by Andrew Lang, Tony Liva, Josh Mommers, Cam Ries, and Trent Delventhal [defensive stats unavailable at time of publication].
The Pirate offense was both armed (Patti went 22-of-33 for a career-high 421 yards, with five TDs against one interception) and dangerous (senior running back Nick DiSalvo logged 312 all-purpose yards and four TDs). They worked behind and around an offensive line that had its ups and downs. Patti was under duress and being hounded by Raider pass rushers for much the evening. And a few big plays were perhaps a little too dependent on River receivers winning 50-50 balls that could have easily been turnovers.
But on this night, the wins were there. Three Buccaneer receivers logged 100-yard games (DiSalvo: five receptions for 126 yards, McDougal: 3-113, Ricketti: 9-122). DiSalvo toted the ball 21 times for a career-high 186 rushing yards; three of his touchdowns came on the ground.
"We have some things to clean up going into week two," said Wells. "But it is always great to win the first one of the season, and tonight we beat a good team. Our work in the off-season prepared us for the game. We came up big in the second half."
CANNON FIRE ...
BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN: The Pirates dropped their 2022 season opener but had won eight straight lid-lifters before that, so with Friday's win over Harvey, Rocky River is now 9-1 over its last 10 openers. ... The Buccaneers' 55 points marked their most in a single game since Aug. 20, 2021, when the Double-R opened that season with a 56-24 triumph over Midview.
ON DECK: The non-conference portion of River's 2023 slate continues next week with an Aug. 25 home game against John Marshall (7 p.m. kickoff). Rocky River's home dates this season are Aug. 18, Aug. 25, Sept. 8, Sept. 29, and Oct. 20.
MEET THE SONS OF BLACKBEARD: The 2023 Pirates return 18 lettermen and 12 starters from last fall's 4-7 team. River is led by 16 seniors. There are five Buccaneer greybeards that are prospective third-year lettermen: Trent Delventhal, Nick DiSalvo, Nate Michell, captain Julian Patti, and captain Ryan Ricketti.
by Skip Snow
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