The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kirtland’s 1-2 punch comes early and often
Hornets roll past Independence as tilt with Cuyahoga Heights draws closer
In a boxing match, all it takes is one swing to change the complexion of the fight.
Sometimes it’s a quick 1-2 punch that does the trick.
The Kirtland football team used the 1-2 combo to dispatch Independence in a battle of two CVC Valley Division juggernauts Sept. 29 at Rogers Field in Kirtland.
Taking advantage of an errant snap on a punt, Kirtland scored a touchdown late in the first half, then ground out a seven-minute scoring drive to start the third quarter.
The 14-point swing helped turn an 8-7 lead into a 21-7 advantage, paving the way for a 35-7 victory.
With the win, Kirtland improved to 6-0.
But more importantly remained atop the CVC Valley and picked up a boatload of playoff computer points from the 4-2 Blue Devils.
“That’s a big one,” Kirtland coach Tiger LaVerde said. “That’s a lot of playoff points. They’re going to win a lot more games. We needed to get that one to possibly host a (playoff) game.”
Independence looked as if it was content to head to the halftime locker room with an 8-7 deficit, dropping back to punt with less than 63 seconds left in the half.
But the snap sailed over the punter’s head, Kirtland recovered on the 4 and quickly scored on a Dylan Fulco keeper for a 15-7 lead.
The Hornets started the third quarter with a 15-play drive that took 6 minutes, 46 seconds off the clock, capping things with a Joey Torok touchdown run for a 21-7 lead.
Independence never recovered from the lethal 1-2 punch.
“(The bad snap) gave us a lot of momentum going into
the second half,” Torok said. “We were determined. We wanted to put a stake in the coffin.”
They did in more ways than one.
Kirtland outgained Independence, 395-130.
But from the point of the errant snap to the end of the game, the Hornets outgained the Blue Devils, 22613
“We didn’t rally,” lamented Independence coach Rick Adams. “I thought we came out in the second half ready to go. We had them. We thought we were in a good spot. We couldn’t get that fourthdown stop.”
Even after the 21-7 lead was achieved, Kirtland didn’t slow down.
Independence went three-and-out on its first drive of the second half. Kirtland marched down
the field and the series ended With Torok scoring again, this time from five yards out.
Fulco ended the scoring late with his second touchdown run of the game.
“We turned the ball over a couple of times, but our kids kept battling and wore them down at the end,” LaVerde said.
Kirtland fumbled into the end zone and also threw an interception the end zone, both resulting in touchbacks and thwarting two more scoring opportunities.
“We have 75 players, and they have about 40,” LaVerde said. “Physically I think we wore them down.”
Nick Mroczynski led Independence with 36 rushing yards, but the Blue Devils were held to 68 yards on the ground on 32 carries, a 2.1-yard average.
Quarterback Kyle Stefanski completed 7 of 12 yards for 55 yards, but sat out much of the second half unable to grip the football because of an injured hand, Adams said.
“They got one (score) on us in the first with a good kick return,” Torok said. “After that, we locked in and played good defense.”
Torok (171 rushing yards, two TDs), Jake Neibecker (115 yards, 1 TD) and Fulco (two TDs) led Kirtland’s rushing attack, which averaged 6.1 yards per carry and piled up 349 yards.
Kirtland faces 2-4 Cardinal next week, while Independence will host 1-5 Hawken.
“This one was big,” Torok said. “This is one of the two CVC battles. We’ve got (Cuyahoga) Heights next (in Week 9). This is one we had to focus on.”