High school football: Rocky River beats Buckeye for second time

ROCKY RIVER — History repeated itself Friday, much to the chagrin of the Buckeye football team. Like they did two weeks ago, the sixth-seeded Bucks made third-seeded Rocky River sweat. But just like two weeks ago, Rocky River still won. This time it was a 32-15 Division III, Region 10 quarterfinal victory. Buckeye exited the playoffs with an 8-4 record. Rocky River (9-3) will play second-seeded West Holmes (12-0) next Friday at a neutral site. While the score shows a 17-point win, it was very much a game with 3:45 remaining. "I'm proud of our kids," Bucks coach Greg Dennison said. "We just kept fighting. We gave ourselves a chance. The score doesn't look like it, but we gave ourselves a chance." Buckeye, which lost 23-12 in to Rocky River in the Great Lakes Conference championship game in Week 10, was very much in this one after forcing the Pirates to punt late in the fourth quarter. The Bucks trailed 18-15 and had a first down on their own 14 with 3:45 left. Jaeden May (13-for-21, 135 yards) dropped back to pass on the next play and free safety Braedon Spies picked him off, returned the ball to the 15 and Tommy Bebie scored on the next play. Bebie (23 carries, 213 yards, 3 TDs), a three-star recruit headed to Wake Forest to play linebacker, added a 73-yard score with 1:15 remaining to ice things. "You know it's tough because we came out here and battled," May said. "We did everything we could. It's a tough one to lose. I'm proud and happy to have the team that I did and the coaches I have. I wouldn't change it for anything in the world." The loss was especially hard considering Buckeye went into the intermission down 15-0 despite giving up 7.6 yards per play to Rocky River in the first half. The Bucks had a chance to tie the game 3-3 on the first play of the second quarter, but Ben Barnes missed wide left on a 29-yard field goal attempt. Undeterred, Buckeye drove down to the 2-yard line with 35 seconds left, but couldn't gain another yard with 35 seconds left. Had a May pass on fourth down from the 2-yard line not missed Barnes, the Bucks likely would have been down eight with the ball to start the second half. "It's tough, but I'm not going to deny the fact our team played hard in the second half," Barnes said. "It was the most fun four years of my life. It's just sad it had to come to an end like this. "Obviously, the touchdown would have helped, but there were a ton of plays. You can't look back on one play in the game and say that it messed us up. We had a couple opportunities. I missed a field goal. That's my fault. One play in this game isn't going to determine if we win or lose." As much as it hurt Buckeye to say, one player did and that was Bebie, who rushed for 289 yards on 43 carries in two games against the Bucks and now has 23 touchdowns. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder broke the school record for rushing yards in a season and now has 1,763. "He's going to do some great things at Wake," said Barnes, who rushed for 132 yards and two scores. "I'll tell you this: He's the best player I've ever played against. He's fast. He may not look that fast, but I'm telling you when he gets going, no one is going to catch him." The next step for Buckeye is a big one with the majority of the starters on both sides of the ball graduating. It's a step the Bucks have taken before under Dennison. "We have juniors, sophomores and freshmen playing," Dennison said. "Those guys got great experience this year. To be in a pressure game like this, they're going to know what it's all about. It's just going to make them better." Contact Brad Bournival at bournival929@gmail.com. Rocky River 32, Buckeye 15 Division III, Region 10 Quarterfinal BUCKEYE 0 0 7 8 — 15 ROCKY RIVER 3 12 0 17 — 32 First R — Mack Massad 40 field goal, 5:43. Second R — Tommy Bebie 5 run (kick failed), 8:38. R — Patrick Lange 16 pass from Braeden Spies (pass failed), 2:25. Third B — Ben Barnes 4 run (Barnes kick), 8:02. Fourth R — Massad 20 field goal, 11:57. B — Barnes 1 run (Barnes run), 6:48. R — Bebie 15 run (Massad kick), 3:28. R — Bebie 73 run (Massad kick), 1:15.