ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- The 2021 Pirates are sailing into waters never before traveled by a Rocky River gridiron squad. The Brethren of the North Coast bested the Buckeye Bucks, 32-15, Friday night, and River is now headed for a third week of Buckeye State playoff action.
The Pirates (9-3) got big performances from seniors Tommy Bebie and Braedon Spies, and head coach Josh Wells characterized the battle as one conquered in the trenches by a Double-R team playing an unselfish and unyielding brand of football. Bebie rushed for three touchdowns on a 217-yard night. The standout running back and linebacker also had a pair of sacks and a team-high 16 tackles in a game controlled by the Pirates in wire-to-wire fashion. Spies threw a TD pass and ran for 47 yards, while logging two interceptions and eight tackles. For good measure, the veteran Swiss Army Knife also pinned the Bucks back with two punts inside the 15-yard line.
Rocky River scored the game's first 15 points and its last 14. And now the season lasts a bit longer: the Pirates are headed to a third playoff game for the first time in school history. The No. 3 seed in the
DIII Region 10 Tournament now advances to the Sweet-16 of the state playoffs: River will play No. 2 Millersburg West Holmes in a Region 10 semifinal on Friday (site, time TBA). West Holmes is 12-0 this season.
Junior kicker Mack Massad landed a 40-yard field goal at 5:43 of the first quarter to open the game's scoring. The River Raiders upped their lead to 9-0 on a 5-yard Tommy Bebie touchdown at the 8:32-mark of the second frame. The Bebie score capped off an eight-play, 80-yard drive. The Pirates scored again at 2:25 when Spies threw a marvelous 15-yard TD pass to fellow senior Patrick Lange. Lange's fourth TD reception of the season vaulted River to a 15-0 lead.
That two-score margin would be put to the test before halftime. A long kickoff return by Michael McGivern set the Bucks (8-4) up at the Rocky River 48-yard line with 2:08 remaining in the second quarter. In a 10-play drive, Buckeye worked the the pigskin down to the shadow of the River goal line. But the drive was stymied by a goal-line stand. Strong River tackling up and down the line of scrimmage kept the Bucks out of the end zone and off the scoreboard, and the Pirates went into the half leading, 15-0.
A strong-will Buckeye group did manage a score on the first drive of the second half. Running back Ben Barnes scored from 4 yards out, breaking three tackles and showing remarkable balance in keeping the play alive.
Barnes' 4-yarder would be the lone score of the third period, but Rocky River opened the fourth with Massad's second field goal of the night to edge its lead to 18-7. Buckeye countered on a drive powered by Barnes. The Bucks went 64 yards on 11 plays, and Barnes himself finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to get Buckeye within three (18-15).
On their next possession, the Bucks were cornered deep in their own territory by a Braedon Spies punt. Spies gave the Pirates a jolt of momentum with an interception -- his second of the game -- on Buckeye's first play of the drive. Tommy Bebie cashed in the Spies pick on the next play of the game, scoring on a well-blocked 15-yard run. The TD re-established a two-score lead (25-15) for the Pirates.
The River defense came through by forcing a turnover on downs the next time Buckeye had the ball. If the Bucks were wounded after that drive, they were motionless and tied up over the fender of the Pirate-playoff-mobile two plays later when Bebie toted the ball 73 yards to paydirt.
The score lifted the Rocky River lead to 32-15.
A 17-point Buck felled by one final Bebie. The touchdown was Bebie's third of the game, 23rd of the season, and 41st of his career. His final stride over the goal line on that last play marked the senior's 1,767th rushing yard of the season. Some 90 yards earlier, he had already passed Mike Milano (2003) to become River's all-time leading rusher in a single season. Bebie had also crossed the 3,000-yard mark earlier in the game, becoming just the fourth Pirate to do so.
Gaudy numbers to be sure. Gaudy propelled by gritty, for that was the effort put forth, sideline-to-sideline, wire-to-wire, and down every last hash mark of the playing field at Rocky River Stadium. A playing field that has now hosted two playoff games this fall. And one that will now see another week of practice as the Sons of Blackbeard sail forth.
Deeper into November.
CANNON FIRE ...
KICK KING: Mack Massad's second field goal Friday marked his 10th of the season. That sets a new single-season program record, breaking the mark previously held by Matt Goepfert (9-of-12 performance in 2015). Massad -- who also had 12 rushing yards Friday -- is 10-of-12 on field goals this season and 15-of-17 for his career. His 15 career field goals are a program record as are his 117 career points.
BUCS AND BUCKS: Buckeye defeated Rocky River in each of the first five meetings between the two programs (2015-19). But the Pirates have now downed the Bucks in three straight, and that includes a 23-12 win at Buckeye earlier this fall (Oct. 22).
BOX-SCORE HIGHLIGHTS: Rocky River finished with 307 rushing yards on 41 carries (7.5-yard average). In the pass game, River was 5-of-7 for 49 yards. The Pirates have now run for 300-plus yards in three of their last four games and four times overall this season. ... Johnny Bebie had 31 rushing yards, five tackles, and a pass break-up. Stan Hueler logged two catches, two tackles, and a sack. Aiden Andrako had a sack among five tackles. ... Braedon Spies has registered a punt inside the 20 in six straight games. He has 11 suck punts on the season. Spies has an interception in four straight games and has five for the season. ... Tommy Bebie's 16 tackles tied a season-high (Oct. 15 vs. North Olmsted). Bebie has clocked 128 tackes and six sacks in 2021. He now has 322 career stops, which ranks third in program history.
POSTSEASON PLUNDERS: With Friday's win over Buckeye, Rocky River is now 4-1 all-time in home playoff games. The 2021 season postseason marks the eighth playoff appearance in program history (2006-07, 2009, 2014-15, 2018, 2020-21). River is 5-7 in 12 all-time playoff games.
by Skip Snow