by The Elyria Catholic Panthers welcome the Rocky River Pirates to Dan Reasor Stadium for a Great Lakes Conference matchup. It was senior night at Elyria Catholic, so there were plenty of festivities around this stadium, however it felt like the Pirates were in control of this game all night long, winning 35-21.
The Panthers got a big play from their defense on the first drive, when JJ Metzinger intercepted Pirates quarterback Julian Patti. Elyria Catholic was then able to drive inside the Pirates 10 yard line. However, the Rocky River defense stood strong and stuffed Panther runningback Rocco DeMartinis on 4th down. A few plays later, Patti would try a shot down the field, but the pass was tipped up into the air and intercepted again by JJ Metzinger.
The Rocky River defense would then come up with a turnover of their own when Josh Mommers intercepted Panthers quarterback Hector Garcia. This would set up the first touchdown of the game, a 10 yard pass from Patti to Ryan Ricketti. The extra point would be no good, so the Pirates held a 6-0 lead. It would take the Pirates just one play to extend their lead. Nick DiSalvo would take a screen pass from Julian Patti 77 yards to the end zone, and Rocky River would have a successful two-point conversion to extend their lead to 14-0.
On the next Elyria Catholic drive Hector Garcia would again be intercepted by Josh Mommers. The Pirates would drive down to the 1-yard line, but on 4th and goal would fumble the ball on the snap and it would be recovered by Graydon Rollins of the Panthers. A couple of plays later Rocky River would intercept Garcia a third time. This time it was Andrew Lang who made the play for the Pirates. With time running down in the first half the Pirates would try a fake a field goal, but it was snuffed out by Graydon Rollins. The Pirates would carry their 14-0 lead into the half. Both teams combined to turn the ball over 5 times in the first half.
Nick DiSalvo would do it all for the Pirates on their first drive of the second half. DiSalvo ran for 51 yards on the drive and capped it off with a 25-yard rushing touchdown. On the next Rocky River drive Patti would be intercepted a third time, this time by Yadier Perez of the Panthers. Elyria Catholic would then take the field with a different quarterback. Junior Brady Engle was inserted into the game and immediately led the Panthers to their first points. Engle would score on a two-yard rushing touchdown, cutting the Pirates lead to 21-7.
Rocky River would respond in a big way when Ryan Ricketti broke multiple tackles and took Julian Patti’s pass 40 yards for a Pirates touchdown. The Panthers offense would continue to move well with Engle under center. On first and goal from the 9-yard line, Engle scrambled around and threw a jump ball to the end zone that Teddy Budinger came down with for a touchdown. Julian Patti would respond with a highlight play of his own. On 3rd down and 23, Patti found Ryan Ricketti over the middle of the field for a huge 24-yard conversion. Ricketti led the Pirates with 6 catches for 98 yards.
That conversion put any of Elyria Catholic’s hopes for a comeback to rest. DiSalvo would finish the drive off for Rocky River with his third touchdown of the game, extending their lead to 35-14. With just over a minute left in the game, Graydon Rollins would score for the Panthers on a 4-yard run. Elyria Catholic could never cut the deficit below 14, and the Pirates would hold on for a 35-21 win.
Player of the Game: Nick DiSalvo 26 CAR 189 YDS 2 TD 5 REC 93 YDS 1 TD
Julian Patti 16-28 comp. 265 yards 3 TD’s 3 int
Nick DiSalvo: 26 carries 191 yards 2 TD’s 6 catches 96 yards 1 TD
Ricketti: 6 catches 91 yards 2 TD 1 catch 7 yards
