OBERLIN, Ohio (Aug. 26, 2022) -- The Pirates came up on the short end of a seesaw battle, as Rocky River fell to Firelands 31-24 Friday.
Rocky River (0-2) worked its way back from an early 10- deficit and led 21-10 midway through the third quarter. But the Pirates could not hang on in the non-conference affair at Firelands Field. The host Falcons (1-1) won the game -- breaking a 24-24 tie -- with a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Firelands led 10-0 after the first quarter, but River battled back. At 8:54 of the second, the Pirates scored their first touchdown of the season when Julian Patti connected with Mack Massad on a 25-yard pass play. The Maroon & White leapfrogged into a 14-10 lead when Johnny Bebie scored on a 2-yard TD run at 3:29 of the second. The Pirate advantage -- 14-10 at the half -- would be extended on a River score early in the third, but the Falcons then struck back on a 42-yard touchdown scamper by Evan Tester at 5:03 of the third.
Three -and-a-half minutes into the fourth, the home side wrested back the lead (24-21) on a 3-yard TD run. Massad's 16th career field goal -- a 24-yarder at 4:43 -- knotted the proceedings at 24-24.
But it would be the Falcons scoring nest. And scoring last. When senior running back Weston Strader ploughed his way across the goal line from 1 yard out, the Pirates and Falcons had exchanged the lead (or tied) for a fifth and final time after 47 minutes-and-50 seconds of football. The final 10 ticks were no salve for a Rocky River squad starting a season 0-2 for the first time since 1978.
For Firelands, Friday's conquest marked the Falcons' first win over the Pirates in eight tries. The game was a flip of a script from 52 weeks prior when River defeated Firelands 45-14 at Rocky River Stadium (Aug. 27, 2021).
Rocky River will have an opportunity to flip a script of its own next Friday when the Pirates host the Valley Forge Patriots in their 2022 home opener (Rocky River Stadium--7 p.m. kickoff).
by Skip Snow
Check out expanded RR Football news, notes, and stats in Hash Marks, which is published on Wednesdays.
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