PARMA, Ohio (Sept. 28, 2024) -- On Friday night at Byers Field in Parma, Rocky River overcame the rain and its own miscues and, with a strong second half on both sides of the ball, defeated host Normandy 35-16.
Remaining undefeated on the road (4-0), the Pirates prevailed with explosive plays on offense and a second-half stranglehold maintained by the River defense. The victory marked River's second in three weeks at the 71-year-old stadium. The Buccaneers defeated Valley Forge at Byers Field Sept. 13.
"We try to keep things consistent whether we're home or away," said coach Josh Wells, whose Pirates are 15-3 overall and 8-2 on the road across the last two seasons. "Having familiarity in this facility helps."
In a Cleveland West Conference battle played amid scattered rain showers, Rocky River (5-1, 3-0 CWC) and Normandy (2-5, 1-2) traded six ties and lead changes. The River Raiders were a minus-2 in turnovers, and Pirate miscues played into a pair of Invader scores.
Two second-quarter touchdown runs by Normandy quarterback Elijah Gray, on dashes of 17 and 10 yards, were bracketed by long Rocky River touchdown passes. At the 30-second-mark of the opening period, quarterback Ryan Taylor connected with Cam Bulkowski on an 80-yard TD pass. At 1:28 of the second, Taylor hit Danny Berg on a 37-yarder.
River and Normandy went into halftime with the game tied 14-14.
Just past the midpoint of the third, the Buccaneers fell behind 16-14 when an errant punt snap went through the back of the end zone for a Normandy safety. Three minutes later, Rocky River came through with another long-play passing TD (Taylor to Josh Mommers for 28 yards). After a missed extra point, the Maroon & White led 20-16.
With an efficient performance from the Pirate defense, the 2-pointer on the special-teams play would mark the Invaders' lone points of the second half.
"We did not tackle well in the first half, and it hurt us," said Wells. "We got that straightened out in the second half, and it made a significant difference in how we were able to stop them."
The Double-R offense came through with a pair of insurance scores, a Mommers rushing TD at 9:09 of the fourth and a Taylor run to paydirt with 2:03 left. Both rushing scores were on 1-yard plays.
With his three passing touchdowns and one rushing score, Taylor has now logged 16 passing and seven rushing TDs this season. The junior's 80-yard TD strike to Bulkowski marked River's longest play from scrimmage this fall.
[Game stats unavailable at time of publication.]
The Sons of Blackbeard will open their October slate with a Friday night contest against CWC foe North Olmsted. The Pirates and Eagles will lock horns and match wits in a 7 p.m. game at Rocky River Stadium on Oct. 4.
CANNON FIRE ...
RENEWED ACQUAINTANCE: Friday's contest at Byers Field marked the first meeting between the Pirates and Invaders since Sept. 24, 2020. Since 2015, River has now gone 7-0 vs. Normandy.
LOCAL PAS(S)TIME: Three quarterbacks have registered touchdown passes this season, and Rocky River has found painted turf on 18 plays this season. Over their last 18 games, the Pirates have cranked out 62 aerial scores.
by Skip Snow
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