ELYRIA, Ohio (Oct. 6, 2023) -- Rocky River notched a key Great Lakes Conference West Division road win at Elyria Catholic Friday. The Pirates worked around three interceptions in what was a revenge game against the Panthers after an ECHS win in last year's Sept. 16 meeting. Winning for the fifth straight week, River prevailed 35-21.

Running back Nick DiSalvo keyed the Rocky River (7-1, 3-0 GLC West) performance on offense. The senior cranked out a combined 287 yards -- 191 rushing, 96 receiving -- on a night that saw the Sons of Blackbeard produce 465 total yards (197 rushing, 268 passing). The Pirate defense helped extricate the squad from an otherwise-deep turnover hole. River turned the ball over four times on three picks and a fumble; the Double-R defense registered three interceptions of its own.

Safety Josh Mommers clocked two of those picks, the sixth and seventh of his sticky-fingered career. The junior also logged five tackles and a 48-yard punt. Mommers and his mates on defense pitched a shutout in the first half. EC scored seven points in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth, but Rocky River was mostly in command throughout. Overall, the Pirates held the Panthers (2-6, 0-3) to 247 total yards (130 rushing, 117 passing).

Elyria's top offensive threat was senior Anthony Demartinis, who racked up 98 rushing and 47 receiving yards.

In last year's RRHS-ECHS clash at Rocky River Stadium, Demartinis and company trailed the Pirates 21-20 with 4:23 remaining in the fourth quarter of a taut back-and-forth. The Panthers chewed clock and drove the pigskin down to the 7-yard line before kicking a game-winning field goal with 36 seconds remaining.

On Friday, no such heroics would be performed against the likes of Mommers, Ben Bogre (nine tackles), Jeff Maslar (7T, sack), Colin Slomka (5T, two tackles for loss), Andrew Lang (2T, interception), Abel Sereika (2T, three hurries), and the rest of the resolute Raider defenders.

And now the Tackle Football Pirates are lined up for what figures as a bottom-line battle in their 2023 War by the Shore game with the Bay Rockets. Rocky River will travel to Bay Memorial Stadium next Friday: both rivals are 7-1 on the season and 3-0 in West Division play.

The Pirates' five-game win streak is the program's longest in a single season since 2015 when Rocky River won seven in a row from Sept. 12-Oct. 23.


CANNON FIRE ...

BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS: Quarterback Julian Patti went 16-for-28 (57.1%) for 268 yards. He three 3 touchdown passes (one to Nick DiSalvo -- a 77-yarder -- and two to Ryan Ricketti) and three interceptions. Patti is now just 6 yards away from eclipsing Matt Lowry's 2014 season for the most passing yards in single season (2,511). ... Ricketti registered 91 yards on six catches. He has 56 catches this season, which are the most since Cree Kysela hauled in a still-school-record 60 passes in 1986. Ricketti has 845 receiving yards this season; he is one of 10 Pirates to ever record 800-plus in a single season. ... DiSalvo also had six receptions Friday; he has 17 over River's last three games. His TD catch at EC marked his seventh of the season. DiSalvo also had two rushing scores Friday. For the season, he has 14 rushing TDs. His 126 points are the second-most for a single season in River history (Tommy Bebie 158, 2021). The senior back also crossed over the 1,000-yard rushing mark during the game. In eight games, DiSalvo has run for 1,073 yards on 105 carries (10.2 average). ... Ben Bogre now has 20 tackles over the team's last two games. He needs just three more stops to reach 100 for his career.

PIRATE-PANTHER PROCEEDINGS NOW LEVEL: In a 12-game series that dates back to 2011, Rocky River and Elyria Catholic are now even at six wins a side.

NOW AT THE HELM: Game 9 of the 2023 season finds the Sons of Blackbeard traveling to Bay Village for renewal of the War by the Shore. Rocky River will meet the Rockets Friday at 7 p.m. The Pirates wrested the Helm away from Bay when it registered a 41-10 trophy-game triumph over Bay in 2021. The Buccaneers retained the trophy a year ago with a 22-21 win over their neighbors to the west. The Rockets lead the all-time series -- which dates back to 1935, 43-38-3.


by Skip Snow

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