Facing a rival for the second time in three weeks is never easy.

After La Salle-Peru easily won the first contest with Ottawa, the Pirates were not going to make things easy this time around, but in the end, the passing game of the Cavaliers allowed them to come away with a 28-14 homecoming victory in an Interstate 8 Conference game Friday at Howard Fellows Stadium in La Salle.

It was L-P’s 13th consecutive win over the Pirates, which ties the longest streak for either team in the 100-plus years the two schools have faced each other.

Ottawa started out well as it took the opening kick and began to drive. For the second week in a row, Andrew Vercolio led the way at quarterback for the Pirates and found Owen Sanders for 14 yards.

On third-and-6, Vercolio found Archer Cechowicz for another 21 yards to keep the drive going. But on fourth-and-18, the Pirates dropped a pass that would have given them first-and-goal on the 5-yard line.

The Cavs (2-4, 1-2) went three-and-out on their first possession. The Pirates started well on their next drive, but this time the Cavs defense forced the punt.

The Cavs began to move the ball, led by quarterback Marion Persich, who ran for 14 yards and then connected with Kale Harden on a screen pass for 11 yards.

On the next play, iRafe Helmig made a catch for another 10 yards. On third-and-8, Persich found Jaron Morscheiser for a big 38-yard gain.

That set up a 6-yard touchdown run from Easton Moriarty that opened up the scoring and put the Cavs ahead 7-0 after the kick.

“I’ve been doing a lot of film sessions,” Persich said. “So reading defenses is becoming a lot easier for me.”

On the Pirates’ next possession, the Cavs appeared to have an interception, but a roughing the passer penalty gave the ball back to Ottawa, which took advantage of the opportunity.

Cechowicz had two runs of 8 yards and then Vercolio found Sanders for 16 yards before Cechowicz tied the game with a 9-yard touchdown run.

“At the end of every game ,Archer (Cechowicz) gets complimented by opposing coaches,” Ottawa coach Chad Gross said. “He ain’t the biggest kid in the world, but he’s a football player and I’d take him any day on any team I have ever coached.”

On back-to-back possessions, the Cavs and the Pirates traded interceptions.

L-P’s Regan Doerr returned his to the Ottawa 9-yard line and Persich eventually ran the ball in from a yard out on fourth-and-goal to put the Cavs ahead 14-7 heading into the break.

The Cavs continued that momentum into the third quarter where Persich found Rylynd Rynkewicz for 8 yards on a screen pass and then Moriarty had runs of 6 and 5 yards.

Shortly after that, Persich hit Landon Zellers on a screen pass and he broke several tackles for a 27-yard gain.

On the next play, Persich rolled right and found Morscheiser for a 16-yard touchdown catch that put the Cavs ahead 21-7.

“I think what really helped the passing game was being able to run the ball a bit,” L-P coach JJ Raffelson said. “And Persich can run and throw the ball, so he’s very tough to defend and we were just able to get some things going tonight.”

The Pirates were unable to get much going on their next drive and turned the ball over on downs.

The Cavs were able to capitalize on third downs.

On third-and-6, it was Persich to Rynkewicz for 15 yards, and then on third-and-12 the duo hooked up again and this time Rynkewicz broke tackles for a 33-yard touchdown catch that pushed the lead to 28-7.

Both defenses tightened up as L-P intercepted another Vercolio pass and then then Pirates forced a fumble and a turnover on downs.

Cechowicz had some nice runs of 11, 10 and 12 yards before Vercolio found Bryson Valdez for a 16-yard touchdown catch to cut the deficit to 28-14.

Persich completed 15-of-20 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 53 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Rynkewicz led the receivers with five catches for 94 yards and a score.

For the Pirates, Cechowicz led the way with 116 yards rushing and a touchdown on 18 carries. Vercolio was 10 of 26 for 115 yards and a touchdown.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 29

L-P's Rylynd celebrates with teammates Gus Konieczki and Brady Twardowski celebrate after scoring a touchdown against Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025 at Howard Fellows Stadium. (Scott Anderson)