ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Sept. 14, 2022) -- News and notes after Rocky River's 38-12 win over Lakewood on Sept. 9 and heading into the Pirates' Friday game versus Elyria Catholic ...
GAME 4: Rocky River (1-3) scored a season-high 38 points en route to its first victory of the season, as the Pirates defeated the Lakewood Rangers in the 2022 Battle of the Bridge. With an offensive line getting a push and multiple backs and receivers coming through with impactful plays, the Buccaneers jumped to a 24-6 lead by halftime. Third-quarter touchdown runs by running backs Johnny Bebie and Nick DiSalvo pushed the River advantage to 38-6. And the fourth frame was an endgame march to the eventual Pirate triumph by a 26-point margin. A swashbuckling Buccaneer defense came up with havoc plays throughout the contest.
DOUBLE-B LEADS DOUBLE-R TO W: Senior RB Johnny Bebie rushed for 225 yards and 3 TDs against Lakewood. Both figures were career-highs. Bebie had a long run of 72 yards and averaged 14.1 yards per carry on 16 totes. ... For the season, Bebie has rushed for 384 yards and 4 touchdowns. He's now within earshot of 2,000 career yards; Bebie has piled up 1,645 yards on 236 career attempts (7.0 average). ... Bebie's second score Friday marked his 20th career touchdown. With his three rushing TDs at Lakewood, the senior talent now has 17 career rushing scores. He also has two TDs on interception returns, one TD on a punt return and one score on a kick return.
RUSHING RIVER: The Double-R logged a season-high 283 rushing yards Friday. The Pirates had 54 passing yards (their 337 total yards also marked a season-high). The ground-game exploits at Lakewood included junior RB Nick DiSalvo clocking 43 yards on two carries. DiSalvo's third-quarter TD marked the second of his career. Junior quarterback Julian Patti registered his first career rushing TD in the game. Patti went 7-of-13 for 54 passing yards; he is now 19-of-32 (59.4%) over River's last two games. ... A year ago, Rocky River's run game cranked out 263.4 yards per game on 7.9 yards per attempt.
TACKLE BOX: Quite by choice -- with the Pirates able to limit the number of plays run by the Ranger offense -- Rocky River's tackle numbers were lower on Friday. But sophomore defensive back Josh Mommers still managed 10 stops in the victory. Mommers also registered his first career interception and a pass break-up. He has posted double-digit tackle numbers in three straight games and has a team-high 39 stops on the season. ... Senior defensive ends Aiden Andrako (three tackles for loss) and Stan Heuler (4T, 2 TFL, PBU, 1/2 sack) also loomed large in River's defensive effort. Junior defensive tackle Max Fano logged 4T.
MACK ATTACK (ON RECORD BOOK): Senior kicker Mack Massad had a 26-yard field goal and was 5-of-5 on extra points at Lakewood. Over his career, Massad is now 17-of-19 on 3-pointers. His final point-after on Friday gave him 77 extra points for his career, knotting him with Matt Goepfert (2014-15) for the all-time Rocky River mark in that category. Massad is already River's all-time field-goal king, with his 17 upright-splitters. The senior standout now has 142 points in his career. He is 6 points away from a top-10 placement in that category. The Pirates' all-time leading scorer is Tommy Bebie, who tallied 272 points from 2018-21. ... For good measure, Massad also booted a 61-yard punt Friday. The kick pinned the Rangers inside their own 20-yard line. Massad has registered six such punts this season.
BRIDGE MIX: Friday’s Battle of the Bridge marked the 17th all-time meeting between two schools located just 4-3/4 miles from one another. The Rangers lead the all-time series, 10-6-1, but the Maroon & White have now won five of their last six games against their neighbors to the East.
ON DECK: Game 5 of the 2022 season finds the Sons of Blackbeard returning home for their opening game of Great Lakes Conference West Division play. On Friday (7 p.m., Rocky River Stadium), the Pirates will host the Elyria Catholic Panthers. ... Friday's contest marks the 11th all-time meeting between RRHS and ECHS. After a Pirate victory in 2021, the series is tied 5-5. ... Rocky River won
last year's meeting 21-20 when it got a 47-yard yard field goal off the powerful right leg of Mack Massad as time expired. The kick -- the longest field goal in River history -- capped off a comeback from a 20-11 deficit.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: Elyria Catholic is 3-1 this season, with its only loss being a 42-41 overtime setback at Sandusky Perkins Aug. 26. EC enters this game on a two-game win streak. That streak got underway Sept. 2 with a 35-14 win over a Midview Middies squad that beat Rocky River 21-0 on Aug. 19. The Panthers are averaging 29.5 points per game while allowing 19 PPG. ... Friday's battle at the Gridiron in the Heart of River will mark the GLC West opener for both programs. Both teams went 4-1 in circuit play last season; the Pirates won the GLC West via their head-to-head win over the Panthers.
YOUTH NIGHT: Friday's battle against EC will mark Youth Night for the Rocky River Football program. River youth teams will be recognized in a pregame activity.
PIRATE SALUTE: Friday's game will kick off the Danny Scherry’s Salute to Service initiative with a food drive to benefit the Rocky River Assistance Program and local families in need. To learn more about Danny’s story or make a donation, visit
neopat.org/salutetoservice.
by Skip Snow