ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- The Battle of the Bridge went to the Lakewood Rangers on Friday. The Pirates lost a late-third-quarter lead to lose to the Rangers, 21-14.
Rocky River (2-2) broke a 7-7 halftime tie when senior Braedon Spies scored on a 4-yard touchdown run at 9:05 of the third-quarter. The TD -- the River signal-caller's fifth on the ground this season -- came on the fifth play of a drive set up by Spies himself when he returned the second-half kickoff 55 yards.
But the Rangers would score on the game's next drive, a methodical, 14-play, seven-and-a-half-minute march to paydirt capped off by a 6-yard TD run by running back Hakeem Quran. The senior captain had scored Lakewood's first touchdown on a screen pass from Lucas Winters. That TD came late in the first half; Quran would also score the Rangers' game-winner late in second half.
The Pirates had trouble maintaining drives throughout the night. Their possessions were stutter-start, jagged lurches down field, with negative plays and penalties often proving too costly to overcome. Two drives ended on fumbles.
Lakewood answered River's second fumble with a five-play drive culminating in Quran's game-winner which came on a fourth-and-1 play at the Rocky River 9-yard line. (The senior standout's second TD also came on a fourth-down run.)
The Pirates did move the pigskin on a desperation drive at the end of the contest. Their final eight plays included a couple near-scores on pass plays. But the Lakewood defense, and the undefeated Rangers (4-0) closed out the victory.
The win marked Lakewood's first over Rocky River since 1940. It snapped a four-game series win streak for the Pirates. The denizens of the east and west banks of the Rocky River did not meet from 1941-2011.
For the game, Spies went 9-of-12 for 75 yards through the air. In a line that included multiple sacks, Spies also logged 34 yards on 15 carries. Fellow senior Tommy Bebie recorded the 10th 100-yard rushing game of his career with a 15-carry, 118-yard performance. Bebie also had a team-high 15 tackles on the night, and he tallied his eighth rushing score of the season.
CANNON FIRE ...
TACKLE BOX: Tommy Bebie's 15 tackles Friday marked a career-best. The senior captain has logged double-digit totals in each of four games this season. His 48 for the season lead the team; he needs eight more stops to reach 250 for his career. ... sophomore Trent Delenthal (six tackles), junior Aiden Konet (six), and Jackson Hermann (four) also registered single-game career bests on Friday.
ON DECK: Rocky River will open Great Lakes Conference West Division play Friday when the Pirates visit the Elyria Catholic Panthers. The River-EC game at Dan Reaser Stadium is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
BRIDGE REPAIR: Between 1922-1940, Lakewood won 12-of-15 games against Rocky River. That stretch included the only tie in the history of the series (a 6-6- game in 1924) and a run of six straight Ranger wins from 1935-40. The series was then dormant until the Pirates defeated their neighbors to the East, 21-13, in 2012. With subsequent wins in 2013, 2014, and 2020, the Pirates went into Friday's game with a a four-game (and 80-year) unbeaten series streak. ... Friday's tilt marked the 20th game in the Battle of the Bridge. Lakewood now leads that series, 113-6-1. The one-score point differential was only the sixth in that series.
by Skip Snow
# # # RR # # #