ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Oct. 10, 2024) -- The Pirates won their fifth straight game since Sept. 13 and triumphed in their fifth straight trophy game against the Demons, as Rocky River defeated Westlake 28-19 Thursday.

The 71st all-time meeting between RRHS and WHS was comprised of just 16 possessions, and the River Raiders plundered two of Westlake's drives with takeaways. Those Demon turnovers -- an interception by Ben Bogre at 11:50 of the second quarter and a fumble recovery by Jeff Maslar at 5:46 of the second -- helped propel the Pirates to a 15-0 second stanza. The rest of the contest -- what came before and after -- was a taut battle with the visiting Demons having an edge grinded out by the powerful running of quarterback Sam Brucchieri and running back Jake Ostrowski. 

Brucchieri and Ostrowski were green-helmet-ed plow horses in the game's opening drive, a methodical 15-play march down the field marked by Westlake converting each of four third-down opportunities. Perhaps with equal parts determined strength of ball carrier and less-than-stellar tackling by a banged up Rocky River defense, yards after contact made for the bulk of an impressive 80-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 5-yard Ostrowski plunge.

After waiting seven minutes-and-38 seconds for a try of its own, the Pirate offense responded with a matching 80-yard TD march. After directing a pass-heavy drive, quarterback Ryan Taylor split the Westlake defense on an 11-yard scamper to put the Buccaneers on the board at 1:11 of the first. River missed the extra point, and the game made its way to the second period with the visitors leading 7-6.

Early in the second, the Bogre interception -- the senior captain's third of his career -- gave the Maroon & White the football at the WHS 18-yard line. The Sons of Blackbeard leveraged the pick right away. After a 5-yard Westlake penalty, running back Joey DiSalvo powerfully bolted 13 yards through would-be tacklers to his second touchdown of the season, and the Pirates had leapfrogged the Demons on the scoreboard. (An ensuing try on a 2-point conversion was unsuccessful.) 

The Raiders then registered another impactful turnover, with senior captain Cam Bulkowski forcing a red-zone fumble to nix a nine-play, 51-yard Demon drive at the River 19. Maslar recovered the loose pigskin, and again the resourceful River squad capitalized. Rocky River went 56 yards on eight plays to get to the WHS 27-yard line. Stephen Cain, whose short, final-second field goal extended River's win streak in Week 7, converted on one of the longest field goals in program history to extend the Pirates' lead at the 2:26-mark of the second. Cain split the uprights on a 44-yarder, and the Pirate lead stood at 15-7.

The Double-R defense then forced a three-and-out, so the Buccaneers got the ball back with 90 seconds remaining before halftime. A monster 30-yard run by Taylor highlighted a five-play blitzkrieg, and the Pirates capped off their 15-0 second-quarter surge when Bulkowski hauled in a Taylor toss 10 yards downfield and spun his way through a tackle at the goal line for a 12-yard TD play. With River again coming up empty on a 2-point try, the undefeated-in-Cleveland West Conference-play home team went into halftime leading 21-7.

After forcing a Rocky River punt on the opening drive of the second half, Westlake (2-6, 0-5 CWC) pulled off a fine 82-yard drive to whittle the Pirate lead to one score. WHS made it 21-13 when Ostrowksi scored from 1 yard out on a third-and-goal. (For the game, the Demons went 7-of-10 on third downs.) Westlake misfired on the point after, and they trailed 21-13 at the 4:15-mark of the third quarter.

It would then be bombs-away, as the Bucs boldly bolstered their lead back into two-score territory. Three plays from scrimmage later, Ryan Taylor lofted a long pass down the left hash mark. DiSalvo darted under the arcing-back-to-earth pigskin, and he gathered it in, avoided tangling with a Demon defender, and raced for painted turf. The tremendous pitch-and-catch on a third-and-long was complemented by a point-after, and it vaulted the Pirates to a 28-13 advantage.  

After having a 12-play drive of their own end on downs and a Rocky River 14-play march end in a blocked field-goal effort, the Demons were able to counter but only after much time had ticked away. A 6-yard Brucchieri touchdown run at 2:13 of the fourth got the score to 28-19. Rocky River would recover an ensuing onside kick and successfully run out the clock for the nine-point triumph on what was a cool, clear, autumnal evening at the Gridiron in the Heart of River.

For the game, Rocky River edged Westlake in total yards, 382-377. The Pirates logged a 206-176 run-pass mix, and Taylor's 108 yards on nine carries and 11-of-20-for-176 passing yards-performance drove the River effort. DiSalvo added 60 rushing yards on 12 carries and finished with over 100 combined yards with his one catch on the long post play. Bulkowski, Oran Grieve, Aiden Laporte, and Josh Mommers all logged multiple receptions. Danny Berg and Cam Hom also turned in big plays for the Pirates.

Bogre, Bulkowski, Mommers, and center Alex Van Meter turned in big two-way efforts for the Double-R. They had five, six, nine, and five tackles, respectively. Michael Worgull made six stops. Bogre's busy evening included the tackles, the pick, and one pass break-up.

The Demons, which had three scoring drives of 75-plus yards, finished with 59 plays to River's 48. Westlake finished with a 27:19-20:41 edge in time of possession.

The Rocky River (7-1, 5-0) conquest -- the Pirates' ninth win in their last 10 home games -- sets up a titanic CWC contest next Friday. On Oct. 19, the Sons of Blackbeard will sail their unbeaten league record into Buckeye waters. River will meet the Buckeye Bucks (7-1, 5-0) in Medina for a game that will have both considerable conference-title and playoff implications. Neither school has lost a CWC game; every other circuit foe has dropped at least two conference games. And the Pirates and Bucks will likely head into Friday's game ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the DIII Region 10 rankings. 

The Pirates' swashbuckling Thursday win also marked a milestone for coach Josh Wells, who earned his 70th RRHS victory. For Wells, coaching in his 10th season at River, that breaks a program record that had stood for 90 years. He's now Rocky River's all-time winningest coach with the 70-win total. On Thursday, he passed Frank Beam who amassed 69 victories in his tenure from 1919-34.  

Wells, who went 16-15 at Brush High School from 2012-14, has logged 86 wins in his coaching career. While 100 sounds like a reasonable, round, and impressive number, perhaps getting No. 87 on a mid-October evening in Medina would stand as a highlight not only in his coaching career but in Pirate Football history as well.

YARD SAIL: Stephen Cain's 44-yard field goal Thursday ties as the third-longest boot in River history. Mack Massad hit a 47-yarder in 2022; Matt Goepfert drilled a 45-yarder in 2015. Four Pirate kickers have now made 44-yard field goals.

PIRATES TAKE THE FIFTH: With the Pirate win against the Demons, Rocky River retains the Westwood Cup, the trophy of the now-annual tussle between River and its neighbor to the west. The Sons of Blackbeard have defeated Westlake in each of the last three years and in each of five meetings since 2014. In an all-time series that dates back to 1917, the Pirates now hold a one game edge (35-34-2).

RY-RY, THE YARDAGE GUY: With his 108-and-176 night Thursday, junior quarterback Ryan Taylor is now on the verge of hitting the 2,000-combined-yards mark for the season. Taylor, who has now twice run for 100 yards in a single game, has rushed for 479 yards and passed for 1,439 (1,828 combined yards). He had  thrown 18 TD passes and run for eight.

by Skip Snow

# # # RR 5k # # #