by ROCKY RIVER, OH – A scrappy and shorthanded River Pirate team prevailed to defeat Holy Name 34-14 to advance into a second weekend of playoff football. The Pirates were without starting tailback Nick DiSalvo and main wideout Orian Grieve. The Namers were also down their star player Xavier Rodriguez.
After forcing a three and out, the Pirates began their opening drive from their own 47-yard line. The drive went nowhere and they had to punt. The Namers first play on their next drive led to a pick six from Ben Bogre from 34 yards away, to give River the early 7-0 lead with 8:26 to play.
The Namers rode the legs of their new starting tailback Jawan Bryant who took several snaps from the Wildcat formation to run time off the clock and gobble up yards inside the Pirate 20-yard line. They had to settle for a 34-yard field goal attempt, in which the came up short on. This kept the score at 7-0 with 4:07 to play in the first.
The Namers needed a spark and got one with a Harrison Frank fake punt and run of 34 yards on what appeared to be a 3 and out at first, instead Frank gave the Namers a reason to get excited. The Namers turned it over again however when Bryant coughed up the ball deep in River territory. The Pirates took over from their own 11, still up 7-0 with 11:50 to go in the first half.
The Pirates took advantage of a short field to score on a drive midway through the second quarter. The points coming on a 31-yard field goal from Stephen Cain. They then extended their lead to 17-0 with a beautiful two-minute drill which ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Taylor. The game went to half with the Pirates up by that same score.
The Namers began the second half with great field position from the Pirate 33-yard line. A big pass and catch to Nic Nemeth got it moving for the Namers. Bryant scored on the next play with a 14-yard wildcat to cross the goal line. A 3 play 33-yard drive in 1:23, made it 17-7 Pirates with 8:55 to play in the third quarter.
The Pirates were unfazed by the Namer touchdown, and went on a long methodical drive to get the 7 points right back. Their score coming on a 5 yad touchdown run from Ryan Taylor to make it 24-7. It was a 13 play, 69-yard drive that soaked up nearly 6 minutes off the clock. For Taylor, it was his sixth rushing touchdown of the year.
The Pirates went on to win 34-14.
