The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD
• Akron Buchtel 21, Mayfield 9
• Bay 24, West Geauga 17
• Benedictine 35, Walsh 34 (2OT)
• Cuy. Hts 38, Berkshire 35 (2OT)
• Brooklyn 25, Fairport 6
• Kenston 35, Chagrin Falls 0
• VASJ 44, CVCA 12
• Aurora 63, Euclid 21
• Chardon 28, Glenville 14
• Geneva 37, Madison 20
• South 44, NDCL 14
• Brush 41, Lakeside 20
Kirtland, winners of 41 straight football games and back-to-back-to-back state championships heading into the 2021 season, picked up where it left off.
The Hornets jumped on visiting Harvey early and often Aug. 20 to build a 43-6 halftime lead and then added a touchdown late in the fourth quarter when 5-foot-6, 135-pound freshman Tyler Turk scooted around the left side for a nine-yard touchdown run to make the final score 50-6.
Only three starters on each side of the ball are back from the team that crushed Ironton, 38-0, last Nov. 21 for the Division V state championship, but the Hornets looked like a polished group of veterans while piling up 524 yards of offense with underclassmen and freshmen playing the second half.
The Red Raiders played better than the score shows, but they had no answer for Kirtland’s strong running game. Hornets senior Mason Rus, running behind gaping holes carved by his offensive line, rushed for 134 yards and one touchdown on seven carries — a 19.1 yards per carry average.
“You read all the newspaper clippings and you see them on film, but until you go against them in person you really don’t know how good they are,” Harvey coach Mickey Mohner said. “They’re pretty darn good.
“They’re the gold standard of programs in the area. From a youth program to middle school up through high school, everyone wants to be Kirtland. They’re a classy program. They do things the right way.”
The Hornets scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and three more in the second.
Junior running back Tommy Gogolin got the Hornets rolling with a four-yard touchdown run on Kirtland’s first possession, then before the first quarter ended, senior quarterback Ramon Lescano hooked up with Gage Sullivan on a 72-yard catch and run and on a 10-yard touchdown pass.
Harvey senior Rick Coleman Jr. lofted a perfect pass 25 yards to sophomore Davon Badley in the back right corner of the end zone to cut Kirtland’s lead to 22-6 with 9:32 left in the second quarter, but after that the Hornets clamped down on defense and kept rolling when they had the ball.
“Our offensive line has been opening holes for the backs,” Kirtland coach Tiger LaVerde said. “We just have to take care of the football.
“They (the Red Raiders) have a nice offense. They have some players. They gave us some problems moving the ball. We just hung in there and tried not to give up any big plays. They got one over our heads for six points, but we got everybody in the game and we’re healthy. That’s the main thing.”
The Hornets responded to the Harvey touchdown 21 seconds later with a 51yard touchdown run by Rus.
Pierce Boyd threw two touchdown passes to Sullivan before halftime.
“We have a bunch of new faces out there,” LaVerde said. “We’re trying to improve on the things we’re not good at. We’ll go to work tomorrow and see what the film shows and go from there.”
Next up for Kirtland is a road game at Lutheran West on Aug. 27. The Red Raiders host Jefferson on the same date.