by North Olmsted, OH – The Rocky River Pirates traveled on the road to the North Olmsted Eagles, where an impressive offensive showing would lead the Pirates to a 40-3 victory on Friday night.
North Olmsted wasted no time to erupt their home fans as junior Michael Passafiume lined in the back field to receive the opening kickoff, which he would return for a monstrous 40 yards. The Eagles would find themselves in a 4th down position in their redzone, but the Rocky River defense would stop the run and force a turnover on downs.
Rocky River’s defense would fuel the offense, as senior quarterback Julian Patti would lead an impressive offensive possession for the Pirates. Senior Nick DiSalvo would break away for a 26-yard run to help bring them into the redzone. DiSalvo would later punch the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown run to open up the scoring.
To start the second quarter, the Rocky River offense would pick up right where they left off. Patti would connect with senior wide receiver Ryan Ricketti on several receptions to help lead their team down the field. Lined up on the 1-yard line, Patti would find Ricketti in the back of the endzone to push the lead out to 14-0.
Another strong defensive stop for the Pirates would allow for their offense to retain possession quickly. Patti would continue a very impressive showing as he would complete another touchdown pass, this time to senior wide receiver Andrew Lang.
North Olmsted junior quarterback Mitchell Kurtz would try to get things moving for the offense as he connected with Passafiume and senior wide receiver Brady Haug to pick up several first downs. Facing another 4th down, the Eagles would be forced to punt the ball away.
The Eagles defense would cause some early issues for the Pirates on the possession as they attempted to slow down the offense. On 3rd down, Patti would find himself in a scramble out to his right, where he would pull from the 50-yard line to find Ricketti downfield for a touchdown. This would put Ricketti over 100 yards on just 7 receptions and extend the lead to 28-0.
Rocky River would retain possession one last time with just over one minute remaining in the first half. Patti would find senior wide receiver Rowan McDougal downfield for a 28-yard reception and allow for one final attempt at a score before the half. The Patti to Ricketti connection would continue as Ricketti was left wide open in the endzone for a 21-yard touchdown to close out the 2nd quarter.
North Olmsted would come out of the half looking to get their offense moving and enter scoring position. The Eagles did just that as Kurtz would find Haug downfield for a 38-yard reception to enter their own redzone. The Eagles would find their first score of the game with a 15-yard field goal kick.
Back with possession, Patti would tally his second 50-yard pass completion of the game to junior Oran Grieve. The pass would lead Grieve into the endzone and extend the Pirate’s lead 40-3.
Time would expire and Rocky River would earn a road win against the Eagles, with a final score of 40-3.
Rocky River was led by senior quarterback Julian Patti and senior wide receiver Ryan Ricketti. Patti threw for 291 yards, on 23 of 30 passing, and threw for 5 touchdowns. Ricketti earned 126 yards, on 8 receptions, and scored 3 touchdowns.
North Olmsted was led by Mitchell Kurtz, Michael Passafiume, and Brady Haug.
Player of the Game: Rocky River’s Julian Patti and Ryan Ricketti
