The Rocky River Pirates will be playing in front of their home fans against the Clyde Fliers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Rocky River had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 25.8 points), and they went ahead and made it seven on Friday. They took their match at home with ease, bagging a 40-0 victory over Fairview. Given Rocky River's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 128th, while Fairview is ranked 550th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Rocky River had a senior duo take command as Julian Patti threw for 205 yards and three touchdowns on only 17 passes and Nick Disalvo rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries.
Meanwhile, Clyde had to endure a four-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat Norwalk 45-14 at home. The victory was just what Clyde needed coming off of a 28-6 loss in their prior game.
Clyde relied on the efforts of Clark Norman, who rushed for 58 yards and two touchdowns, and Adam Young, who rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries.
Rocky River's victory was their seventh straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 9-1. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 1-9 Fairview and 2-8 North Olmsted (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 38.6% over those games). As for Clyde, their victory bumped their record up to 5-5.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's contest: Rocky River has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 293.2 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Clyde, though, as they've been averaging only 97.6 per game. How will Clyde fare against such a dominant passing game?
Rocky River beat Clyde 27-17 in their previous meeting back in November of 2018. Does Rocky River have another victory up their sleeve, or will Clyde turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
