VALLEY CITY, Ohio (Oct. 18, 2024) -- The Buccaneers went into Week 9 on a swashbuckling, five-game winning streak. But on Friday evening at Buckeye High School's Alumni Stadium, there was no swash, just buckling, as the Pirates were routed 55-0 by the host Bucks.
The victory by Buckeye made for a mid-October clinch of the eight-school Cleveland West Conference's inaugural championship. The tussle in Valley City served as a de facto CWC title game, because the Pirates and Bucks both went into the contest without a conference loss and every other league foe had already accrued at least two setbacks in circuit play.
Buckeye (8-1, 6-0 CWC) scored early and often and on both sides of the ball, and it never looked back in the battle between two teams highly ranked in DIII Region 10. Two first-quarter rushing touchdowns by senior running back Troy McCann were split by a Bucks interception returned for a TD, and the dominant Buckeye performance was put in place by the 3:56-mark of the opening frame when the home team led 21-0.
Leveraging big blocks across its offensive line and a powerful run game driven by McCann, a 2023 third-team All-Ohio running back (Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association), Buckeye pounded out a 41-0 lead by halftime. First, it was the running back, with McCann pummeling the Pirates for four scores on the night. Then it was a running clock, as a mercy-rule second half played out two more scores for the home side and none for the visitors. The final score marked River's second shutout loss this season (49-0 to Sandusky Perkins Sept. 6) and the Maroon & White's largest margin of defeat in more-than-20 years (55-0 loss to Avon Lake in 2000).
McCann, who earlier this season had a six-touchdown game, found paydirt four times on Friday. Buckeye would registered 21 points in the first quarter, 20 points in the second, seven in the third, and seven in the fourth. A banged-up Rocky River (7-2, 5-1) team had no answers.
[Game stats not available at time of publication.]
"We had numerous injuries that we couldn't overcome," said coach Josh Wells. "But the bottom line is that we just didn't execute in any of the three phases of the game."
Leveraging every phase of the game, the Bucks banged out 55 points and has now averaged 44.5 points per game in CWC play. Buckeye has outscored its six conference foes 267-40.
"Buckeye is a very good football night and caught us on an off night," said Wells.
Wells and coaching staff and their charges will now look to make sure their Week 9 misfire amounts to a one-game losing streak. Because up next for the Sons of Blackbeard is the 2024 War by the Shore. On Oct. 25, the Pirates will host the Bay Rockets in the regular-season finale.
The Maroon & White, now the DIII R10 No. 4-ranked team, have earned other things coming down the road in November. But first and foremost should be the opportunity for the Class of 2025 to go 4-0 vs. Bay.
That would certainly put some swash back in the buckle.
CANNON FIRE ...
BUCS & BUCKS: Friday's game at Alumni Stadium marked the first Rocky River-Buckeye meeting since 2021, when the Pirates defeated the Bucks twice including a
32-15 triumph in a DIII R10 semifinal Nov. 5, 2021. With Buckeye's 2024 win, the Bucks halted a three-game River win streak in the series. In nine all-time meetings, all since 2015, Buckeye is 6-3 vs. the Pirates.
ON DECK: The Oct. 25 game will mark the 86th River-Bay game. This year's War by the Shore will feature the Pirates hosting a 5-4 Rocket team. Bay is 3-3 across six Cleveland West Conference games; four of its six league games have been decided by one score. ... River's three-year hold on the Helm Trophy marks the longest win streak in the series since the Pirates defeated the Rockets in eight straight from 2003-10. ... The Rockets lead the all-time series, which dates back to 1935, 43-39-3. .... The War by the Shore has been decided by one score in eight of the last 11 series meetings. That includes the Pirates winning a
28-21 thriller last fall.
by Skip Snow
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