CLEVELAND (Aug. 31, 2024) -- Rocky River fired up its aerial assault, stayed unbeaten on the young season, and ran a regular-season win streak to nine games with a 42-14 triumph at John Marshall Friday.

The Pirates (2-0) rode a 35-0 first-half advantage in downing the Lawyers (0-2) in what marked River's first road game of the 2024 campaign. For the game, Rocky River scored all of its six touchdowns on pass plays. Junior signal caller Ryan Taylor went 13-of-18 for 260 yards and five TD passes (London Hover threw the Double-R's other TD) despite much of the second half being played with a mercy-rule running clock. Taylor has completed 71.7% (33-of-46) of his pass attempts through the first two weeks of the season.

Seven players logged receptions in the Labor Day Weekend air show. Sophomore Danny Berg registered four catches for 57 yards and a TD. Senior Oran Grieve hauled in two passes; both resulted in Pirate paydirt. Cam Bulkowski, Josh Mommers, and Henry Ward also scored touchdowns.

The River run game was efficient but was called upon in just 15 plays from scrimmage. Joey DiSalvo (50 yards) and Cam Hom (41 yards) were at the vanguard of a Buccaneer attack that produced 99 rushing yards.

On defense, senior Ben Kuhnen ledgered a team-high seven tackles. Mommers added six and now has a team-high 16 stops through two games. He also had his second interception of the season. Hover and Ward carded five tackles each. Steven McHenry had four stops with three of those being for losses.

John Marshall scored all of its points after first-team River defensive players had left the contest.

The Pirates, which have thus far outscored foes 77-27, will take on 2-0 Sandusky Perkins on Sept. 6. That contest, with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Rocky River Stadium, will mark the Buccaneers 2024 home opener.

by Skip Snow

# # # RR # # #