by Cleveland, Ohio – The Rocky River Pirates defeated the host John Marshall Lawyers, 42-14, on Saturday afternoon at John Marshall Stadium.
It did not take long after the Pirates got the ball to find the end zone. Junior quarterback Ryan Taylor found senior Josh Mommers for a 33-yard touchdown reception. The PAT from Stephen Cain was good and Rocky River led 7-0 at the 10:48 mark of the first quarter.
After forcing a John Marshall punt, Ryan Taylor found another senior, Oran Griede, for a 37-yard touchdown reception. This would increase the Pirates’ lead to 14-0 less than three minutes later. Taylor would throw his third touchdown reception, this to senior Cam Bulkowski for a 28-yard score to increase the lead to 21-0.
The Pirates got one more score to cap off the first quarter, as Taylor spread the wealth again, this time to Danny Berg for a 26-yard scoring strike with :18 left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Taylor tossed his fifth touchdown of the game, and second to senior Oran Grieve. This padded the Pirate lead to 35-0 with 10:20 left in the second quarter. The score was set up by a long punt return from Cam Bulkowski.
John Marshall moved the ball down the field on the ensuing possession, but their drive came to a premature end due to an interception from Josh Mommers. The Pirates looked to add to their lead, but Ghaneem Habbadah added an interception of his own for John Marshall to close the half.
John Marshall was able to find the end zone in the third quarter with a scoring drive of their own. Junior quarterback De’Angelo Taylor found Randall Henry for a six-yard touchdown reception. He later found Jaylan Salmon for the ensuing two-point conversion.
Rocky River countered with a touchdown drive of their own. Junior quarterback Landon Hover found senior Henry Ward for a 21-yard touchdown reception. This increased the Pirate lead to 42-8 with 10:08 left.
The Lawyers found the end zone one more time, as junior tailback Jaylan Salmon took a handoff nine yards to the house. This would cap the scoring on the afternoon.
Rocky River hosts Sandusky Perkins on Friday, September 6th to close non-conference action.
John Marshall hosts Cleveland Central Catholic on Friday, September 6th, in non-conference action.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Ryan Taylor (Junior) (Rocky River)
Taylor went 13 of 16 passing for 235 yards and five touchdowns Saturday afternoon. He spread the wealth throughout the day and moved the ball with precision.
Jaylan Salmon (John Marshall)
The junior tailback had 16 carries for 141 yards and a touchdown. He broke free for a couple of big gains to help keep the Lawyer offense going in the second half.
Extended highlights below:
