High school football: Bebie guns on defense, rushes all over Buckeye in Rocky River win

YORK TWP. — There was a Bebie and a B.B. Both were magnificent, but in the end Tommy Bebie's Rocky River football team beat Ben Barnes and the Buckeye Bucks 23-12 Friday in the Great Lakes Conference championship game. The 6-foot-1, 201-pound Bebie rushed 20 times for 176 yards and made plays all over the field from his linebacker position, where he will play in college at Wake Forest. "He knows how to hit you," the 5-11, 184-pound Barnes said. "He got lower than anybody I've ever played against. He's the best linebacker in Northeast Ohio. He's a great player." Barnes, who lined up at tailback, fullback, quarterback and receiver, more than held his own while carrying the ball 20 times for 113 yards, completing a 45-yard halfback option pass, catching one pass for 25 yards, kicking field goals of 36 and 37 yards and registering a sack among two tackles for loss while also making plays all over the field from his outside linebacker position. "He's a tough dude," Bebie said. "We watched him on film all week. Every time he got hit, he still found a way to get yards. He and I were going at it. It was fun." Rocky River (7-3), the GLC West Division champion, ended up beating the East Division champion Bucks (7-3) because its offensive line dominated the second half. Pirates quarterback Braedon Spies (1-for-5, 10 yards; 11 carries, 53 yards, 2 TDs) didn't attempt a pass in the second half but used his legs to pick up first downs at key times, as did junior John Bebie (5 carries, 44 yards, TD). The hard-running Tommy Bebie did the rest with carries that went for 7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 10, 12, 20 and 70 yards. "(He's a) stellar running back," Barnes said. "He probably broke four tackles on some plays. Kudos to him and his offensive line. They were great." After marching 69 yards in 12 plays, the Bucks took a 3-0 lead when Barnes boomed a 36-yard field goal with 5:03 to play in the second period. The kick was made possible because Buckeye quarterback Jaden May did a great job of handling a high snap from center. The Pirates answered immediately, going 75 yards in 11 plays to take a 7-3 lead on Spies' 1-yard sneak with 38.2 seconds left in the half. The Bucks had a chance to answer thanks to Michael McGivern's 41-yard kickoff return to midfield, but Barnes' 40-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the half did not come close. McGivern also had five catches for 92 yards and two carries for 9 yards. Buckeye, which got great defensive efforts from Jacob Lowry and Cam Stout, had a 14-play, 55-yard drive that took 8:58 off the clock to start the second half but had to settle for a 37-yard Barnes field goal that made it 7-6. After losing a yard on Rocky River's first play from scrimmage, Tommy Bebie made a quick cut in the middle of the field, broke a tackle, got to the left sideline and rumbled 70 yards to the Buckeye 3-yard line, from where Spies scored on the next play to make it 14-6. "It was a little noticeable at the end of the first half," Tommy Bebie said when asked if his team wore down the Buckeye defense. "We kind of had the mentality we weren't going to be stopped. That's a proud Buckeye team, though. They're tough every year." The Bucks showed some of that toughness when May (10-for-22, 116 yards, TD, INT) capped a seven-play, 65-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to James Orient to make it a 14-12 game with 9:58 remaining. Buckeye lined up to go for two and moved Barnes into the wildcat formation but called timeout. The Bucks did the same thing when play resumed and Barnes took the snap, rolled right and tried to lob a pass to May, but it was broken up by Owen Kleckner. "I made the wrong read," Barnes said. "I should have thrown to the outside. I've just got to own up to it and get ready for next week." Rocky River appeared to have iced the game when fullback John Bebie scored from 14 yards with 6:29 to play, but the Pirates missed the extra point, leaving the score at 20-12. The Bucks, however, went four-and-out, and Mack Massad kicked a 23-yard field goal to put Rocky River up nine with 55 seconds left. "That's another point for our defense to work on," Barnes said when asked if Buckeye got tired. "We're going to see the same type of teams in the playoffs. We've got to get stronger as the game goes on." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on Twitter. Buckeye 23, Rocky River 12 ROCKY RIVER 0 7 7 9 — 23 BUCKEYE 0 3 3 6 — 12 Second B — Ben Barnes 36 field goal, 5:03. R — Braedon Spies 1 run (Mack Massad kick), :38.2. Third B — Barnes 37 field goal, 2:57. R — Spies 3 run (Massad kick), 1:41. Fourth B — James Orient 9 pass from Jaden May (pass failed), 9:58. R — John Bebie 14 run (kick failed), 6:29. R — Massad 23 field goal, :55.