Rocky River Pirates Flood Lakewood Rangers 42-27 in Battle of the Bridge

It was homecoming night for the Rocky River Pirates on Friday, and the hype could not have been better around the 3-1 squad. What better way to bring the graduates home than with a rivalry game on home turf?

In the first quarter, Lakewood made themselves feel at home as they QB Avery Holt hit his main WR, Jaylen Chappell in stride for an opening drive 65 yard touchdown. The Rangers didn’t stop there, as they forced a turnover on the ensuing kickoff. Lakewood would double down on their lead with a 1 yard touch pass from Holt to Chappell to take a 14-0 lead with 7:24 in the opening quarter.

Rocky River didn’t fold like a bad poker hand though, these guys are 3-1 for a reason, and they established that with a 71-yard touchdown drive capped off by their QB Ryan Taylor parting the middle of the field like the Red Sea for a 25-yard scamper to cut the lead in half. The Pirates would force a three and out and waste no time tying the game up at 14 with another QB keeper of 6 yards. One more failed Lakewood drive capped off an action packed first quarter dominated by offense. Pirates QB Avery Holt hit wideout Cam Bulkowski for a 43-yard strike which set up the opening touchdown of the second quarter with a third Ryan Taylor touchdown from a yard out to take their first lead.

Lakewood would find their rhythm again though, as Holt hit Chappell for his third touchdown from 33 yards out. Following a missed extra point, the Rangers found themselves down just a point. The Pirates’ next drive produced no points, however QB Ryan Taylor hurt his ankle on the play and would not return until the second half. After another failed Lakewood drive and a blocked punt, backup QB Josh Mommers stepped in and led an immediate touchdown drive to take a 28-20 lead.

After a trade of possessions and a Mommers interception, both teams headed to the locker room with hope on offense and some questions at defense. Following the break it was a slow start into the third quarter, as Rocky River coughed up the football on their opening drive of the half, and Lakewood returned the favor by turning it over on downs.

The first score of the third quarter came with 7:31 in the third quarter as Cam Bulkowski found the end zone from 14 yards out. For the remainder of the quarter it was smash mouth football and defenses that prevailed, until Ryan Taylor returned to burn some rubber, as he found his fourth rushing touchdown from a yard out to give the Pirates a 42-20 advantage with 3:13 in the third.

The fourth quarter proved there was simply not enough time for a Lakewood comeback, as they found their final touchdown via a Holt rush to make the final score 42-27. For a guy with 4 rushing touchdowns despite being banged up in the second quarter, it comes as no surprise that the Pirates QB Ryan Taylor was Friday night’s player of the game.

Rocky River celebrates their fourth victory of the season and their second in the conference by hoisting the River Wood Cup on Friday night. Lakewood looks to rebound next week as they visit North Olmsted, and as for the Pirates they look to ride the hot hand into next week away at Normandy.