by Spies performed brilliantly on the drive and capped it off with a rocket armed 36 yard over the shoulder missile to Owen Bebie to score.
Moments later the same two hooked up on the two-point conversion cut it to 20–14 at half. It was a crazy first twenty-four minutes that saw the Pirates pull off of a fake punt as well.
A rather calm third quarter saw the Pirates cut the lead to 20–17 heading into the final 12 minutes. From there it was all Rockets as their ground game absolutely took things over. They pounded it in again, this time it was Galati extending the lead to 27–17.
The Pirates had a chance to cut it to seven with a little over five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, but A Bebie field goal attempt was blocked. From there, the air was let out of the stadium and the second touchdown of the night by Buttari ended it for good.
Despite the loss, Coach Josh Wells talks about the experienced gained the night for his squad:
Experience playing under the lights, in my opinion, is the best thing for a young player. Tommy and Braedon got a lot out of that year, but so did guys like Charlie Sobol and Aidan Coyne on the offensive and defensive lines. I feel what they learned that year, led to the success that we had in the 2020 and 2021 seasons going 16-6, winning a conference championship, and going 3-2 in the playoffs stemmed from the experiences in the 2019 season.
There was no 2020 edition because of COVID-19, so the Pirates had to wait even longer to get revenge against their rivals, but they did just that in 2021 with a 41–10 thrashing of the Rockets. Perhaps even more stunning than the blowout was that all 41 Pirate points were scored in the first half, as they chose not to throw the ball a single time.
On the legs of the Bebie Bro’s, Tommy and Johnny, the Pirates ran all over the Rockets from start to finish. Tommy finished with 247 yards and 4 touchdowns, all coming in the first half. Younger brother Johnny went for 89 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Pirates rode the momentum of that night to win three playoff games later that fall and capture the GLC championship.
Coach Wells reflects on the big win over their rivals and how it sparked an incredible finish to the season:
This year’s game had a lot of added juice to it for the fact that we were not able to play Bay in 2020. The Bebie’s and Spies were so determined to win that game and bring the Helm Trophy back to River that nothing was going to stop them. We did not go into that game thinking we wouldn’t throw a single pass, but we also approach each week that we are going to take what the defense is going to give us, and it just played out that we didn’t need to throw.
Our O-line was an experienced group of young men who took pride in having our running backs run for as many yards as they did. Having Tommy, Johnny and Braedon certainly helps that, but without the bigs up front our run game wouldn’t be what it is.
In 2022, it resumed when without their star player Johnny Bebie, the Rocky River Pirates needed big efforts from other key players and got them in a thrilling 22-21 victory over their rivals, the Bay Village Rockets at home.
Rocky River Quarterback Julian Patti threw for 178 yards on 10 of 14 passing with 2 touchdowns tosses as well. Running back Zach Wilson took advantage of extra reps with 58 yards on 12 carries along with the game winning score.
Ryan Ricketti and Mack Massad both had first half touchdown catches to build the 14-0 lead for Rocky River. Ricketti caught 2 balls on the night, for 22 yards. While Massad had 2 catches for 68 yards. Demis Salivares caught 2 balls for 46 yards.
Bay Village does what the Rockets do best, run the ball with a bevy of ball carriers. Tonight, no less than 7 different players carried the ball for the Rockets. They were led by Brendan Spellman with 14 carries for 83 yards. Charlie Rice with 45 yards on 10 carries. Charlie Rogers with 20 yards on 6 carries, as well as Wondu Evans with 19 yards on 3 carries and 69 yards rushing for Mac Weingart who also had all three Bay Village touchdowns.
One of the reasons why I love this rivalry are the families that pass through it. It wasn’t long ago that I was covering Nick Buttari, and tonight, it was his younger brother Tony getting some shine! Tony went 5 of 9 passing for 48 yards while also rushing the ball 5 times for 24 yards.
After forcing a Rocket punt, the Pirates started the game from their own 35 and went to work. Julian Patti went 4 of 4 on the drive for 55 yards. Zach Wilson ran the ball 4 times for 26 yards and the Pirates struck first. The score came on a 11-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Ricketti with 3:56 to go in the opening quarter.
The next time the Pirates had the ball, they faced a 3rd and a long when Patti reared back and hit Mack Massad in stride. Mack caught it and took off down the middle of the field breaking tackles left and right on his way to a 58-yard touchdown. It was 5 plays for 70 yards in only 2:13 off the clock in the early moments of the second quarter.
Down 14-0, the Rockets knew they needed a drive and got one. Using a steady diet of runs the moved the ball down the field. It was a nice mix of Charlie Rice, Brendan Spellman, Charlie Rogers and Wondu Evans toting the rock. Twice on the drive they were faced with a fourth and inches, and twice they converted with quarterback Tony Buttari keepers up the middle.
They’d cash in on a Mac Weingart 2-yard touchdown run as no less than 6 different Bay Village Rockets carried the ball on the drive. Rogers then took in a two-point conversion to make it 14-8 River at the half. The drive was 19 plays for 80 yards.
The Pirates saw two drives fizzle to start the second half. This gave Bay Village a chance to tie or take the lead and they did. After a scoreless third quarter, Mac Weingart opened the fourth quarter scoring on the very first play with an 8-yard touchdown run. They went 50 yards on 9 plays following a River fumble at midfield.
River didn’t trail long however as they scored on their next possession with a 9-yard touchdown run by Zach Wilson. They then converted the 2-point conversion to make it 22-15 with 8:44 to play. It was a 9 play drive, taking up 62 yards in 3:12 of action. The big play on the drive was a 28-yard pass to a wide open Demis Salivares.
Bay Village would begin their next scoring attempt from their own 8-yard line after a penalty on the ensuing kickoff. The idea was to soak up enough time driving down the field to eventually score with little to no time remaining. Wouldn’t you know it, that is exactly what they did! Once again it was Mac Weingart crossing the goal line from 1 yard out to make it 22-21 with 1:49 to play.
Bay Village then had a choice to go for the tie or lead and they went for the lead and were stopped. The try was unsuccessful and the Pirates held the 1-point lead with 1:49 to go. It was a gutsy call by head coach Ron Rutt but on the road in a rivalry game, the smart one even though it came up empty.
Rocky River held on for the 22-21 victory.
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You can read more about this rivalry, and the best rivalries in Northeast Ohio High School Football right here.
Excellent article! I played for RRHS in the mid 60’s graduating in 65. My senior year we won the SWC Championships in football, wrestling, baseball, and track. The biggest game or match was always against the Bay Rockets. I was fortunate to captain our championship team. I was named Cleveland Press Star twice and also named to the Plain Dealer Dream Team. Those were the best of times and I have many exciting conversations with my nephew Dave Zastudil about the rivalry. I played fullback and remember those games like they were yesterday. Thank you for writing about the most important game both schools played.