by FULL WRITTEN RECAP BELOW HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
Westlake traveled over to their neighbors, Rocky River, for a Thursday night Cleveland West Conference matchup. Westlake looked to rebound from a loss at home and Rocky River looked to continue their undefeated season. The Demons and the Pirates battled tonight for their rivalry trophy, the Westwood Cup. Rocky River won the toss and chose to defer the ball to Westlake to start the game.
Westlake with the ball back found themselves in a third and long very quickly. This is when a pass from Moe Abdelhady found Hadi Mustafa who ran his way for around 10 yards for Westlake’s first down of the game. Westlake kept it going and advanced the ball with a nice hard count for another first down. This all led to a stop for the Pirates where defensemen Connor Novosel and Rocco Bacon met Wes Urich at the line for a big fourth and one stop.
Aside from a short third down, the Pirates flew down the field over the air. Faced with a first and goal, Atwater found Rowan Kennedy on a wide receiver screen who followed Tristin Hughes in for their second touchdown of the night. After the extra point, Rocky River led 14-0 with 4:36 left to go in the first. With the ball back Westlake was able to move down the field thanks to catches from Gavin McMillen and nice rushes by Hadi Mustafa. This all led to a fourth down punt for the Demons which ended up giving the Pirates the ball back at the 50. The Pirates continued to work the ball in the air and Tristen Hughes was able to get Rocky River back in the red zone with a great catch over the middle. Quarterback Carter Atwater was able to find the end zone after a quarterback keep, putting the Pirates up 21-0 after a successful point after.
Rocky River would go on to score a rushing touchdown with Tristen Hughes in the backfield after another Westlake fourth down turnover. With around 6 minutes left to go in the second quarter, Rocky River led 28-0. Westlake could not hold onto the ball at this point of the night, turning the ball over again on fourth down. This put the pirates inside Demon territory. After the Pirates offensive line gave Atwater all the time in the world, he found Danny Berg over the middle, who cut the ball back, reversing the field and creating his own lane to the end zone for another first half touchdown. After a missed PAT, the Pirates led 34-0 with 3:39 to play in the half.
Westlake was able to put a drive together this time right before the half. Westlake’s run was stopped almost entirely, and Abdelhady had to resort to the air. McMillen and Geno Woods make big completions to get the Demons inside of the 5-yardline. This is when Moe Abdelhady found Jacob Abdallah in the back left corner of the end zone for Westlake’s first score of the game. The Pirates did not let them celebrate this long, blocking the extra point attempt keeping the score 34-6 with less than a minute to go in this half.
To top off this incredibly high scoring half for the Pirates, they run a one-minute drill and drive down the field ending up in a 22-yard strike from Atwater to Kennedy to extend the score 40-6. The point after was made and this brought the game to half, Rocky River leading Westlake 41-6.
Westlake came out of the half determined and forced an early punt by the Rocky River offense. Westlake needed yards on long plays a lot on this drive, and their receivers delivered. McMillen was looked to on just about every play, helping the Demons get inside the Pirates red zone. After another great hard count sent the defensive line offsides, Abdelhady found Ben Lasinis over the middle who broke a big tackle and took the ball in for a 15-yard touchdown strike.
With another possession, the Pirates are able to make their way downfield with ease. This is where Senior Tristin Hughes broke the all-time Rocky River receptions record (110) with a catch in the backfield. With this boost of energy, the Pirates were able to come out on the positive side of a fourth and five, solidifying their dominant win. A run to Rocco Baon up the middle is able to get right into the end zone for the final score for the pirates. They now led 48-12. Westlake was able to punch one more score in after a nice pass over the middle from Abdelhady, leaving the score 48-19.
The players of the game for Rocky River were Tristen Hughes who had a historic night, breaking the receptions record and also having two touchdowns, one rushing and one over the air.
The player of the game for Westlake was Moe Abdelhady who kept the offense moving over the air and had three passing touchdowns.
The Pirates remain undefeated, and play their next game away against the Buckeye Bucks. The Demons travel to Bay Village to try to break their four-game losing streak.
