The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kirtland’s fall season is off the charts
It’s shortly before 3 p.m. at 9150 Chillicothe Road when a handful of loud tones echo through the hallways signifying the end of another school day at Kirtland High School.
At most schools, that usually means a mass exodus of students flocking to the exits to be anyplace but where they are — at school.
At Kirtland, things are a little different.
Most cars don’t leave the parking lot at the end of the school day.
Buses that do depart the school aren’t jam-packed with kids.
That’s because at Kirtland, a large number of students are also members of fall sports teams.
And they’re good. Like, really good. Kirtland is in the midst of a fall season that might be unprecedented in The News-Herald area.
Consider as of this morning:
• The vaunted Kirtland football team, a robust 155-17 (.901) under Coach Tiger LaVerde, is 11-0 and the top-ranked Division VI football team in Ohio.
• The Hornets’ girls soccer team is 20-2 and headed to the Division III state championship game after a 1-0 win over Archbold on Nov. 6.
• The Kirtland boys soccer team (17-2-3) just bowed out of the Division III state final four after a loss to Archbold in its state semifinal on Nov. 6.
• The Hornets’ golf team won a Chagrin Valley Conference title under Coach Sam Kless this fall.
• Girls cross country runner Reilly Greenlee was a Division III regional qualifier in her sport.
Now there are schools that can boast about having a successful fall sports season.
But whatever claims those might be likely pale in comparison to what’s going on at Kirtland this fall.
“It’s amazing,” said Kirtland athletic director Matt Paul said. “Kirtland’s sports are in a good spot right now, and it’s exciting. We have very supportive families and coaches who live and teach at our school. And we have great
kids.”
Kids who by and large participate in some sort of extra-curricular activities.
Whereas some schools struggle to fill a football roster, LaVerde’s program has 77 players 9-through-12.
Whereas soccer rosters can be slim, Kirtland’s boys program had more than 40 this year.
“In all fall sports, including band, I’d say at least over 70 percent of our student body participates in something,” Paul said. “And everybody supports each other, too, which is great to see.”
Case in point, at the regional championship soccer matches at Streetsboro last weekend – the morning after Kirtland’s football team won its postseason opener, LaVerde, other members of his staff and a large number of players got out of film session early to come support both the girls and boys soccer teams.
This coming weekend, the girls soccer team plays in a state championship match in Columbus at 1 p.m. Nov. 9.
“The girls want to end up in Strongsville that night to support the football team,” said Paul, noting Kirtland’s football team plays Creston Norwayne at Strongsville’s stadium.
LaVerde said the support is one of the many things he loves about the Kirtland community.
“These kids grow up together. They go to kindergarten together,” LaVerde said. “They are really kind and supportive of each other. Most of our coaches are teachers with kids in
the district as well, so we really support each others’ programs and teams.”
LaVerde marvels at the participation across the board at his school.
“Most of our students don’t go home after school,” he said. “Between football, soccer, band, cheerleading, volleyball, cross country and golf. Most kids are very involved.”
Heading into the middle portion of November means winter sports are about to get ramped up. At Kirtland, that means welcoming new boys basketball coach Shawn McGregor, girls basketball coach Bob Bell chasing his 500th career victory, and wrestling coach Scott Francis continuing his strong program on the mat. Additionally, word is Kirtland has more swimmers this year than in any other year.
But before that all happens, the Hornets want to end the fall season in strong fashion.
They’d like nothing better than to get a girls soccer state championship this coming weekend, then follow that up with the school’s fourth state title in football the first weekend in December.
Those would be two emphatic exclamation points on what has already been an unparalleled fall sports season.
“Yeah, it’s definitely been a fall to remember,” Paul said.
And then some.
Kampf can be reached via email at JKampf@NewsHerald.com; On Twitter @NHPreps and @JKBuckeyes