by BAY VILLAGE, Ohio – Another pristine Friday evening in Northern Ohio saw a matchup between the Firelands Falcons (0-2) and Bay Rockets (1-1) at Bay Village High School.
Firelands began with the football but quickly discovered they did not have much luck on the night, as they failed to earn a first down on their opening drive. Bay took over, marching down the field in no time, taking a 7-0 lead with a 4-yard rushing touchdown from Rocco Eriditario midway through the first. Firelands remained stagnant, unable to get into enemy territory again until the second half. Bay, on the other hand, continued to impose their will. A 5-yard ‘tush push’ touchdown from Charlie Rodgers gave Bay a 14-0 lead at the end of one.
The Rockets again swiftly stopped the Falcons and found the end zone on their next possession. QB Patrick Cleary got started with a 14-yard passing touchdown to his TE Michael Foreman with six minutes remaining in the second quarter to put the Rockets up 21-0. One more two-minute drill drive saw Cleary earn his second passing touchdown from three yards out to Foreman once again to put Bay up 28-0 at the break.
The Rockets began the second half with the football and once again wasted no time to score their fifth touchdown of the night. Cleary was the delivery man, and WR Ethan George was the recipient of the four-yard touchdown pass to boost the Rockets’ advantage to 35-0. From there on out, a running clock was in play, and the nightmare only grew worse for Firelands, as QB Liam Tobicash fired an interception with 3 minutes to go in the third quarter, the game’s only turnover. Bay immediately capitalized with their longest play of the game, a 51-yard rushing touchdown from RB Ethan Taulbee to solidify Bay’s margin at 42-0.
The fourth quarter went by in the blink of an eye, but the Falcons didn’t come away empty-handed. With the last play of the game, Ethan Taulbee found TE Brett Beury for a 65-yard touchdown to make the final score Bay 42, Firelands 6.
The Falcons drop to 0-3 as they prepare for a matchup next Friday on the road in Oberlin. The Rockets grab their second straight win to improve to 2-1 as they head to Normandy next week.
Players of the game:
Bay: #6 QB Patrick Cleary 16/21 186 pass yds 3 TDs
Firelands: #35 TE Brett Beury 2 rec 67 yds 1 TD
