PAINESVILLE, Ohio (Aug. 23, 2024) -- The Sons of Blackbeard lifted the lid on their 108th season Friday. But Rocky River almost kept the cover on the end zone in their own end. And with the Maroon & White turning in solid performances on both sides of the ball, the Pirates defeated the host Harvey Red Raiders 35-13.
River kept the Raiders off the scoreboard until the 7:40-mark of the fourth quarter. Harvey's final tally came with just a minute remaining. The Double-R defense also scored one of the Pirates' five touchdowns on the night, and the team earned an opening-night victory for a 10th time in the last 11 years.
Seniors Cam Bulkowski and Josh Mommers each scored two touchdowns in the contest. Mommers' first on the night was a scoop-and-score that came early in the first quarter and lifted the Buccaneers to a scoreboard advantage they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
Rocky River (1-0), which defeated Harvey 55-42 in an explosive season opener a year ago in River, led Friday's contest 14-0 when Bulkowski ran the pigskin into the end zone at 2:36 of the first. The Pirates extended their lead to 21-0 on a Mommers run midway through the second and to 28-0 on a mid-third dash to paydirt by quarterback Ryan Taylor.
The endgame made for a winning exchange for the home side, but the 7-for-13 trade -- with Bulkowski logging River's fourth rushing TD on the night -- was a case of too-little-too-late for the Red Raiders. And the Sons of Blackbeard avoided a 2023-opener-style, spiraling-score duel with their hosts, and they closed out their eighth consecutive win in regular-season play.
The Maroon & White prevailed in the turnover exchange, finishing at a plus-2, and River was also largely in command of the contests exchange in field position.
"[Kicker] Stephen Cain gave us a big lift getting touchbacks on 4-of-6 kickoffs," said coach Josh Wells, who was the 2023 Ohio DIII Coach of the Year and Great Lakes Conference Coach of the Year and who Friday opened his 10th season at the helm of the Rocky River program. "That helped us win field-position battles, and any time you can do that and win in turnovers and get a defensive score, it's going to put you in position to get a victory."
Wells was happy with a Pirate defense that looked to be on the verge on recording a shutout in a road game for the first time since Oct. 2, 2020 (31-0 at Lakewood): "We played fast, and guys were in position all night. We need to improve on finishing tackles, but overall I'm happy with our performance."
A new-look Rocky River offense -- one that in the spring graduated its top passer, rusher, and receiver from a year ago -- did well to move the chains at times but perhaps also misfired on more-than-a-few opportunities.
"I thought our offense played well in spurts," said Wells, whose Pirates averaged 38 points per game, a figure that ranked second in program history (40.2 PPG in 2014). Our execution on the line was great most of the night. Our playmakers made some plays, but we also left some opportunities on the field. I'm looking forward to seeing us make a jump from Week 1 to Week 2."
CANNON FIRE ...
ON DECK: The non-conference portion of River's 2024 slate continues next week with an Aug. 31 road game against John Marshall (Saturday noon kickoff). Rocky River's home dates this season are Sept. 6, Sept. 20, Oct. 4, Oct. 10, and Oct. 25.
MEET THE PIRATES: Rocky River returns 9-of-22 starters (two offense, seven defense) and 16 lettermen from a squad that went 10-2 in 2023. Senior members of the 2024 Pirates are Daoud Asleh, Ben Bogre, Cam Bulkowski, Stephen Cain, Oran Grieve, Cam Hom, Ben Kuhnen, Aiden Laporte, Brady McCarthy, Josh Mommers and Will Sweeney. This year's team captains are Bogre, Bulkowski, Grieve, Mommers, and Sweeney.
PG-13: In 2024, the Rocky River Pirates carry on the tradition of honoring a player who will wear Patrick Green's No. 13 in the season. Green, who was a standout punter and glue-of-the-program-type teammate when he played for the Pirates from 2016-19, is so honored in memoriam. His No. 13 threads are annually bestowed by the team alongside the Green family after a preseason practice. Wearing the '13' jersey this fall is senior Cameron Bulkowski, who last year wore No. 8. Bulkowski is a two-way Buccaneer (wide receiver, corner back) who registered four receptions (1 TD), 56 tackles, and two interceptions last autumn. He was a Northeast Lakes District honorable mention and the team's Special Teams Player of the Year in 2023.
by Skip Snow
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