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The Lorain County League is officially up for grabs. After tonight’s 42-28 win, the Pirates gave themselves a shot at becoming LC8 co-champions. If Firelands can knock off Columbia next week, there will be a three-way tie for first place.
First Half
Tonight’s game was the epitome of a dogfight. The Pirates set the tone by stopping the run early and forcing Firelands to punt the ball away on their first two possessions. With four minutes to play in the opening quarter, Groesser connected with Urbas for a 65-yard score and Black River took their first lead of the game.
On the next possession, Firelands looked determined to punch back. However, the Pirates forced a fumble by Strader, and Alex Sotherland fell on the ball. A 21-yard rush by Hopkins set up another touchdown pass from Groesser to Urbas, and the Pirates led 14-0.
Playing from behind is not something that the Falcons have had to do a lot this season. Down 14, they mounted a 69-yard scoring drive after Strader carried the ball into the end zone from two yards out. They then forced Black River to punt, and a 12-yard touchdown pass from Aunspaw to tight end Abel Coultrip tied the game with just five seconds to go in the half.
Second Half
Black River was set to receive the opening kickoff with a chance to take control of the game. After connecting with Mrakuzic for 29 yards through the air, Groesser was pushed across the goal line from just a yard away. Black River retook the lead and did not look back.
The Pirates defense continued to control the line of scrimmage and stifle Firelands run game. On fourth and nine, Aunspaw connected with Timmy Phillips, but was stopped short of the first down marker. The Pirates sent their offense back out onto the field on their own 23 yard line.
Groesser proceeded to connect for big gains on back-to-back downs—first to Hopkins for 33 yards and then to Mrakuzic for a 47-yard score down the sideline. The touchdown gave the Black River a two-score lead late in the third quarter.
But Firelands refused to go away. Head coach Ryan O’Rourke stuck to his gameplan and continued to feed his best player. On their next drive, Strader picked up 55 yards on eight carries. His biggest gain of the night came early in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard rush up the gut. That play set up Kovach to punch it in from the one and the Falcons cut the lead to seven.
In the final quarter, the game quickly became a shootout. Black River staged a six-play scoring drive that was capped off with another touchdown catch by Nathan Urbas. However, Strader found his way into the endzone from 13-yards out just two minutes later. With eight minutes to play the Pirates led 35-28.
Black River’s response was methodical. After four straight hand-offs, they took the ball into the redzone with just four minutes on the clock. Groesser, yet again, found his way into the endzone and gave his team a two-score lead on two-yard rushing touchdown.
Desperation quickly set in for the Falcons and they were forced to put the game in the hands of Jimmy Aunspaw. They shot themselves in the foot after a personal foul that resulted in a first and 25. As the clock ticked, Aunspaw was able to pick up 20 of the 25 yards through the air, but Timmy Phillips was stopped short of the first down on fourth and five. The game ended with Black River in victory formation.
Key Players
Black River junior Eric Groesser finished the game with 264 passing yards and five touchdowns. He also banged through 5 PAT’s and was responsible for each of the Pirates 42 points. In their final home game, the wide receiver duo of Nathan Urbas and Tyler Mrakuzic each totaled over 100 yards. Junior running back Blake Hopkins added 142 yards from scrimmage and a dozen tackles on the defensive end.
For Firelands, Weston Starder finished the game with 157 yards and two touchdowns on 35 touches. Quarterback Jimmy Aunspaw went 15/17 for 122 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Josh Kovach added 68 yards and a score. Timmy Phillips caught eight passes for 53 yards.
Sound Bites
Black River HC Kyle Clark:
“The way our kids executed our plan–I’m so stinkin’ proud of ‘em. They did everything we asked, they practiced great all week, and this game was big to them. One of our goals was to win the Lorain County League and we gave ourselves a chance to do that.”
Firelands RB Weston Strader:
“We had a lot of miscommunication. We didn’t convert when we wanted to convert. We didn’t make stops when we wanted to make stops. We got to start all over. We got to be 1-0 everyday next week.”
Players of the Game
Black River
Eric Groesser- 10/15, 264 passing yards, 3 touchdowns and 25 rushing yards with 2 touchdowns
Nathan Urbas- 3 catches, 123 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns
