ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Oct. 27, 2023) -- Friday's foray into Buckeye State playoff waters was good hunting for the Pirates. Good hunting on a glorious night for high school football. And beneath an all-Ohio sky and the bright lights of Rocky River Stadium, two very good gridiron squads tussled for one of the best prizes in all of sports -- the right to play on.
That Friday evening sky included some drifting ribbons of gray clouds. Nothing else seemed to move in an atmosphere feeling too tense to make such an allowance. For long stretches of post-kickoff time, that seemed to apply to both offenses and certainly to the scoreboard in a hard-fought
DIII Region 10 bracket battle between the Pirates and visiting Clyde Fliers. And in a thrill-ride exchange of just 14 combined possessions, Rocky River defeated Clyde 14-7.
Things did come untethered in the first six minutes of action, a short stretch that provided grade-A momentum swing in the form of an Aesop fable. River played the hare in this gridiron version of the story, with the Pirates scoring an 82-yard touchdown (Julian Patti throwing a short pass to Ryan Ricketti who sped his way to his 17th score this season) on the first play from scrimmage. Clyde countered as the tortoise, methodically marching the football 67 yards on 10 plays but filing the same result (a TD on a 9-yard run by quarterback Jonathan Lantz).
Defenders on both sides then made their presence known, at least in their own ends, and both teams had drives end on downs. Rocky River -- the No. 5 seed in DIII Region 10 -- then clocked a monster 10-play, eight-minute-and-48-second drive eating up most of the second quarter. That drive culminated in a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Patti, who during the drive became the first player in River history to throw for 3,000 yards in a single season.
Patti's arm would be needed the rest of the night, but just in moving the chains, not throwing TD passes. Something similar might be said of talented offensive players representing both schools. Big plays were made. Backs and blockers made plays and moved yard markers. They just wouldn't mobilize any more scoreboard digits on a night full of swings and misses, defensive stands, and gut-wrenching moments pre-loaded with all the anxiety that comes with football played in brackets.
The Pirates would have four more possessions the rest of the way. None were bolstered by favorable field position, but the Maroon & White did register first downs in all of them. Three of those drives went six plays or more. And in hindsight, while the Double-R didn't extend its lead, it did eat into the Fliers' available clock time.
Clyde -- the No. 12 seed in the region -- had five possessions after that second River score. With a powerful ground game paced by senior running back Chancy Miracle, the Fliers moved the ball plenty. But their last five drives would end in a punt, a turnover on downs, and three turnovers.
The Buccaneer takeaways were logged by defensive end Trent Delventhal (fumble recovery), safety Josh Mommers (fumble recovery), safety Ryan Ricketti (interception), and cornerback Colin Slomka (forced fumble). They often came after drives harassed by the likes of Cam Bulkowski (nine tackles, pass break-up), Mommers (7T), Michael Worgull (6T), Delventhal (6T), and Max Fano (5T). They were the backbone of a Pirate defense that on the night allowed 336 yards but just seven points.
Offensively, Rocky River was led by Patti (14-of-25, 257 passing yards), Nick DiSalvo (16 rushes for 124 yards), and Ricketti (six receptions for 136 yards). Bolstering that trio was a veteran offensive line providing time and angles while operating amidst a swarm of Flier defenders. The work of left tackle Will Sweeney, left guard Max Fano, center Conner Granzier, right guard Connor Kane, and right tackle Zane Lindquist helped extend drives and cut into Clyde's time with the football.
At the end of the night, Rocky River (10-1) finished with 359 yards to Clyde's 336. The Pirates were held to a combined 3-of-13 mark in converting third and fourth downs.
Those were just some of the numbers. Here are two more to consider: 8 and 58.
When those players listed above -- and their teammates -- were eight years old and imagining playing a big football game some night under the lights, every last one of them pictured 58 degrees, an October breeze rustling waves of orange, red, yellow, and brown in the trees, screaming fans, and thundering bands.
They imagined Friday night, October 27, 2023, in Rocky River, Ohio.
CANNON FIRE ...
UP NEXT: Rocky River now moves on to play No. 4 Mansfield Senior in the Region 10 bracket. The Pirates and Tygers will flash swords and teeth in 7 p.m. contest on Friday (Arlin Field in Mansfield). Mansfield (9-2) defeated No. 13 Lexington 31-13 Friday, earning its ninth straight win.
BUCS IN BRACKETS: Friday's triumph marked River's sixth all-time playoff win. Across 10 playoff appearances (2006-07, 2009, 2014-15, 2018, 2020-23), the Pirates' Buckeye State tournament record is 6-8.
YARD SAIL: The Pirates' first play of Friday's game -- the 81-yard Patti-to-Ricketti touchdown -- marked their longest of the season. With one entry in this category missing from the team's statistical record, River has registered a play from scrimmage of at least 50 yards in seven games. With a figure that comes with a football-size grain of salt due to multiple running-clock affairs, the Pirates have averaged 423.4 total yards across all 11 games. ... Patti has now thrown for 3,126 yards this season and for 4,383 yards in his career. Only Matt Lowry (2012-14) has piled up more career passing yards (4,793) in River history. ... With his 124 yards against Clyde, Nick DiSalvo passed Chris Oatey
(1,385 yards in 1995) to move into fifth place on the program's single-season rushing list. Friday's game marked DiSalvo's first of the season without a touchdown. The senior running back has tallied 17 rushing and seven receiving scores.
HASH MARKS: Cam Bulkowski, Trent Delventhal, and Andrew Lang all registered their 50th tackles of the season Friday, joining Ben Bogre (74) and Josh Mommers (59) as the team's top tacklers this fall. Delventhal has had over 50 tackles in each of three varsity seasons. ... Friday's contest marked the second all-time meeting between Rocky River and Clyde. Both have been playoff games.
River upset a top-seeded Fliers team 27-17 in the 2018 DIII Region brackets. ... A year after going just 1-4 in five home games, the Pirates closed out the fall of 2023 with a 6-0 mark at the Gridiron in the Heart of River.
by Skip Snow