MEDINA, Ohio -- On a late-October evening well-constructed from the ground-up for high school tackle football, a conference title was earned by a Rocky River roster well-constructed for winning. The victory was by a 23-12 final. The opponent was the Buckeye Bucks, champions of the East Division of the Great Lakes Conference. And that foe was vanquished by a Pirates team playing solid football on both offense and defense.
Rocky River (7-3) -- the circuit's West Division champ -- rushed for over 300 yards on offense. Its key figures in that effort -- Tommy Bebie, Johnny Bebie, and Braedon Spies -- also turned in tremendous plays on defense. The overall mix was too powerful for the Bucks (7-3) to overcome on what was a spirited autumn evening at Alumni Stadium at Buckeye High School.
The Pirates, who had scored 40-plus points in three of their previous four games, were tested by a stingy Buckeye defense which went into the night allowing just 13.4 points per contest. It would take River's dangerous offense nearly 24 minutes to get on the board, but when the Pirates did score -- on a 1-yard Spies touchdown run at 0:38 of the second quarter -- they vaulted to a 7-3 lead.
The Bucks pulled within one after a monster nine-minute-and-three-second drive to open the second half yielded Ben Barnes' second field goal of the night. But the Sons of Blackbeard wasted no time in their counter attack. A long Tommy Bebie run on the second play of the ensuing drive got the visitors into the shadow of the goal line. Running behind a River line which had a big night, Spies scored from 3 yards out to certify the Bebie dash, and the Pirate lead was extended to eight points (14-6).
Spies' rushing TDs marked his 10th and 11th of the season. The senior signal caller has scored in nine of Rocky River's 10 games.
Buckeye gutted its way to its first touchdown on a 9-yard pass play at 9:53 of the fourth. A 2-point conversion attempt failed, however, and the Pirates clung to a 2-point margin (14-12).
Again, River struck back. Big chunk rushing plays churned out behind a bullish Buccaneer line powered the Pirates down the field. "Our offensive line was outstanding tonight," said head coach Josh Wells, who has now led Rocky River to two GLC titles (2015, 2021). "The line cleared the way for our backs."
The Pirate backs collecting hash marks by the dozen in that mid-fourth-quarter drive were Johnny Bebie, Mack Massad, Spies, and Tommy Bebie. And it would be Johnny Bebie bowling his way through would-be tacklers from 14 yards out to get the Pirates' third TD of the night. Bebie's seventh rushing score of the fall was followed by a misfire on the extra point, so Rocky River failed to clear its lead into two-score territory.
Buckeye got the football back at the 6:30-mark, trailing 20-12. The River defense held strong.
No quarter given. And the fourth quarter -- and game -- about to be taken.
Getting monster plays from the Bebie brothers and Jacob Gura, the Pirates forced a turnover on downs. The offense came back on the field, taking over at the Bucks' 33-yard line. Several minutes later -- after an apparent Johnny Bebie TD run was nixed due to a holding call -- River hammered the triumph into place with a 23-yard Mack Massad field goal.
Mack's 13th career field goal -- establishing a new Pirate record -- was noteworthy. The three points it added were key. Rocky River defended the final 55 ticks of the clock in near-equal parts technical skill and celebratory jubilation.
The final tick of that clock was more than noteworthy or key. It was momentous, sending the Rocky River Pirates to a conference championship in the first year of the two-division format.
"This was a huge win on the road in a tough place to play," said Wells. "Our effort in all phases of the game was incredible. Our schedule prepared us to win in pressure situations like tonight, and I'm so proud of how our players and coaches responded. Hard work and trusting the process is not easy, but it paid off tonight."
And the Maroon & White pulse of electricity after the final seconds ticked off the clock? A crowning moment, but one that had been well constructed by Wells and company since spring and summer camp drills and August preseason training. Building something special all the way.
Hence the hard hats.
CANNON FIRE ...
RUSH WEEK: Rocky River rushed for over 300 yards for a second straight week and a third time this season. The Pirates went into Friday's title game averaging 7.6 yards per carry and 243.3 yards per game. Unofficial statistics had Tommy Bebie hitting 180 yards on 17 totes, Johnny Bebie piling up 44 yards on five carries, and Braedon Spies rambling for 63 yards on nine attempts.
YARD SAIL: With his Friday performance at Buckeye, Tommy Bebie passed James Yun (1,258 rushing yards in 1993) and moved into fifth place on Rocky River's single-season rushing list. Bebie has logged 1,338 yards through 10 games [unofficial]. ... Bebie's career total now stands at 2,701 rushing yards (fifth RRHS history).
RECORD BOOT: Mack Massad's late-game field goal marked his 13th career 3-pointer, passing Michael Konrad who made 12 field goals in his career at RRHS (2016-17). Massad -- who nailed a career-long 47-yarder earlier this season -- is 13-of-15 in his career. The junior has 60 kicking points this season which is just two short of the 62 compiled by Matt Goepfert in 2015. Massad is 15 points behind Goepfert's career point total (110). His long snapper is Evan Merk, and his holder is Braedon Spies.
CONFERENCE CALL: The Pirates' 2021 league title marks the 22nd conference championship in program history. Rocky River has won two GLC crowns, three West Shore Conference championships (2006, 2007, 2009), 14 Southwest Conference titles (1944, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1979, 1990, 1997), and three Greater Cleveland Conference championships (1923, 1924, 1933).
by Skip Snow
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