Sports

Berkley Beats Royal Oak for 'The Curb'

The Bears outplayed the Ravens 42-29 on Friday night in the "Fight Against Childhood Cancer" game.

The Ravens and Bears had not met on the football field since Royal Oak consolidated their two high schools in 2006. Berkley took the first game of the heated series Friday night in Royal Oak, 42-29, thus bringing "The Curb" – the prestigious chunk of cement that serves as a trophy in the rivalry – to the west side of Woodward Avenue.

Overall, Berkley rushed for 283 yards while Royal Oak gathered 196. 

[Upload your game photos to our charity Berkley vs. Royal Oak spirit contest!]

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The Ravens got on the scoreboard first after stopping Berkley. Ravens senior Justin Unger Unger took the handoff from the second play from scrimmage and rambled 71-yards for the touchdown. The point after touchdown (PAT) was missed and the Ravens were up 6-0 with 9:29 left in the first quarter. Later in the quarter, Berkley drove to the Royal Oak 40 but the drive stalled. A fake punt turned into a 24-yard scamper by Alec Sanom giving the Bears a first down at the Raven 16. Five plays later Sanom took it in to score on a fourth and goal at the two-yard line. The PAT was good and the Bears were up 7-6. They upped their lead to 14-6 when the Bears blocked a Raven punt and recovered at the eight-yard line. Eric Hudson took it in to score and the Bears hit the PAT with 10:45 left in the second quarter.

The Ravens chipped away at the Bears lead later when Berkley punter Nick Borden-Smith mishandled a snap and was tackled in his own end zone for a safety, 14-8. The Ravens took over at the Bears 45 after the kick off and took two plays to score when quarterback Jacob Gostiaux took it in from the one-yard line. The PAT gave the Ravens a 15-14 lead with 1:31 left in the half. The Ravens stopped the Bears at the Royal Oak 25-yard line where the half ended.

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In the third quarter, the Ravens marched 63-yards down the field in only seven plays taking four minutes off the clock to extend their lead to 22-14 when Gostiaux found Fall in the end zone with a touchdown pass.

Berkley took the kickoff 90 yards to the Royal Oak five-yard line where they scored four plays later to cut the lead to 22-20 in the beginning of the fourth quarter.

But Unger pushed the lead back to 29-20 when he capped off a four-play 75-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run.

But that was the end of Raven scoring. Berkley put together a six-play, 60-yard drive that brought them within one, at 29-28. Then, after stopping the Ravens again, the Bears marched down the field 47-yards in eight plays to take the lead, 36-29, when Sanom took it in from one yard out and then ran in the two-point conversion.

Royal Oak had the ball after the kickoff at their own 25 when on the first play from scrimmage, Unger mishandled a handoff that went off his hip and then his foot toward his own end zone where the Bears recovered and scored but missed the two-point conversion to go up 42-29.

Royal Oak head coach Ryan Irish presented the 30-pound "Curb" to Bears' coach Jeff Burnside in a ceremony at the end of the matchup, which was also dubbed the "Fight Against Childhood Cancer." Players from both teams raised money for Children’s Miracle Network at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak and the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor.

RELATED:

Patch will donate $200 in the name of whichever high school has the most uploads by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21, in honor of the "Fight Against Childhood Cancer" game that will reignite the cities' rivalry Friday. As an added incentive, the losing editor agrees to eat humble pie and use a photo from the winning school as their Patch Facebook banner on Monday, Oct. 22! Be sure to find out the winner by "liking" Berkley Patch and Royal Oak Patch on Facebook.


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