LODI, Ohio -- The 105th season of Rocky River gridiron action came to an end on a cold, breezy night in Lodi, Ohio. It came to an end in the third week of the
DII OHSAA Football Playoffs, uncharted waters for the Brethren of the North Coast. And it came against a talented, undefeated team from Millersburg West Holmes High School. The Knights dealt the Pirates a 51-28 loss to advance to the Region 10 title game where they will face Great Lakes Conference member Holy Name.
West Holmes (13-0) cranked out 20 second-quarter points against a Double-R squad which had allowed only 33 points over its previous three games. The Knights tacked that performance on to an existing advantage on the scoreboard at Cloverleaf High School's Gene Clark Stadium; they would lead, 34-14, at halftime. West Holmes would close out the Pirates after a relatively even exchange in the second half.
The Knights -- winners of 17 of their last 18 games since 2020 -- leveraged key interceptions in the latter minutes of the the first half and the early minutes of the second. They were a plus-3 in turnover margin for the game.
"West Holmes is a very good football team that got the best of us tonight," said head coach Josh Wells. "But this loss does not define our season."
Sam Williams-Dixon scored three touchdowns to lead the Knights. Williams-Dixon had TD receptions of 75 and 93 yards. For good measure, he also registered a 75-yard interception return that set up a West Holmes score in the waning moments of the first half.
Rocky River (9-4) countered with four TDs by the Bebie brothers -- three by senior Tommy and one by junior Johnny. But the Pirates trailed all the way; they were down, 14-7, after one quarter, 34-14 after two, and 41-14 after three.
Tommy Bebie finished the game with 187 rushing yards on 19 carries. He closed out his season with 1,954 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns (all rushing). Both figures are new school records. During the game, Bebie also became River's career rushing leader, passing Mike Milano (2002-04). The Pirates' bell-cow running back finished his prep career with 3,317 rushing yards. He leaves the program as its leading rusher and point-scorer (278 points) and as its No. 2 all-time tackler. Bebie clocked a remarkable 622 yards over his last three games alone.
And all the way, one hash mark at a time, those gains were sponsored by the law firm of Andrako, Herrmann, Merk, Sobol, and Coyne. Rocky River's offensive line figured as one the the program's best in recent memory, and it helped power the team's four rushing scores on Friday.
Johnny Bebie logged 49 rushing yards on four carries. Quarterback Braedon Spies bolted for 61 yards on 10 carries. Rocky River tallied 333 rushing yards overall. Spies went 7-of-14 for 84 passing yards. Mack Massad had two catches to produce 52 of those 84 yards. The Pirate offense had 417 total yards.
The 417th yard of the night would be the team's last of the season -- the final three feet of a tremendous autumn journey. A journey led by seniors Tommy Bebie, Aidan Coyne, Kai Delventhal, Jacob Gura, Will Hanzel, Jackson Herrmann, Patrick Lange, Jake Leamon, Caleb Miller, John Sadiku, Charlie Sobol, Michael Somers, Braedon Spies, Dominic Toledo, and Tommy Vacca. And one that saw the Sons of Blackbeard win two playoff games, a program first.
"It's never easy when a season ends and a group of seniors moves on," said Wells, "but I am very proud of what we accomplished this season. This group of seniors made a mark in our program that will never be forgotten. We will remember and cherish this season."
The fall of 2021 was also a journey that witnessed Rocky River winning an outright GLC title. And for an entire Rocky River community, the 105th season of Double-R Football was an outright thrill. One punctuated by the fall colors of maroon helmets and gold trophy hardware. An autumn punctuated by falling leaves and a football team hanging on until mid-November. Hanging on for the best of all reasons -- 46 reasons, in fact: for each other.
The 105th season of River Football will years from now -- and rightly so -- be regarded as Pirate treasure.
CANNON FIRE ...
DISTRICT HONOREES: Earlier this week, senior Tommy Bebie was named the Northeast Lakes District Defensive Player of the Year. Bebie and 10 other Pirates were tabbed as all-district honorees. Bebie, Aiden Andrako, and Braedon Spies were named All-Northeast Lakes District First Teamers. Named to the all-district second team were Johnny Bebie, Stan Heuler, and Mack Massad. Jackson Herrmann, Patrick Lange, Owen Kleckner, Charlie Sobol, Aidan Coyne, and Evan Merk.
PIRATE POSTSEASONS: The 2021 season postseason marked the eighth playoff appearance in program history (2006-07, 2009, 2014-15, 2018, 2020-21). River is 5-8 in 13 all-time playoff games.
by Skip Snow