CANTON, Ohio — Tiger LaVerde admitted earlier this week a bit of jealousy toward Marion Local.
It had nothing to do with the Flyers' 10 OHSAA state football championships or that they beat Kirtland in last year's Division VI final.
"I'm very jealous of that conference because every Friday night, there are so many great games, great schools and great coaches," LaVerde said of the Midwest Athletic Conference, which traditionally sends multiple small schools to the state finals.
Marion Local (13-1) is the only one this year. Kirtland faces the Flyers for the third time in four years at 10 a.m. Friday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
"We've played the MAC five times, and every time the people I talk to in the parking lot at Kirtland say they're so kind," said LaVerde, whose teams have faced the MAC's Coldwater and Minster in state finals. "They're what high school athletics is all about."
Ever so complimentary, LaVerde rarely takes credit for the job he has done at Kirtland: three state championships, and this is the seventh title game appearance, since 2011.
Between the schools, Friday morning's matchup represents 20 combined state final appearances. That lofty number comes with even bigger numbers for such small schools. Marion Local coach Tim Goodwin said Monday he has 72 players on his team, which had a 2017 enrollment figure of 112 boys, according to the OHSAA.
Kirtland had 152 boys, yet LaVerde said his program had 80 football players last year. That number shrunk to 66 this year, he said, which is still an anomaly for such a small school.
"When I got hired in 2006, we had about 35 kids on the team," LaVerde said. "If you can get 10 kids out in each grade, you're doing well."
Kirtland exceeded that to become the class of the Chagrin Valley Conference.
"What it does is it makes the practices fantastic," LaVerde said. "It allows us to play a freshman, JV and varsity schedule. We run into a lot of teams that can't even put together a JV team on a Saturday morning.
"I can't imagine not playing a JV game and not getting those kids ready for Friday night competition."
Too many times early in LaVerde's tenure he encountered teams that informed him Friday that they could not suit up reserves for Saturday morning. So, he began to contact the area's giants, including Mentor, St. Edward, St. Ignatius and Avon.
One by one, they accepted junior varsity matchups.
"That was unbelievable competition for our JV squads, and that's going to help us next year," LaVerde said.
There is incentive for the bigger programs, such as St. Edward and St. Ignatius, who played six out-of-state opponents this season.
"We're struggling to get games, especially on the JV and freshman levels," said St. Edward's Tom Lombardo, whose team plays Colerain on Friday night for the Division I state title. "I'm trying to tell Tiger to play us on the varsity level. He's kind of got everything to gain from that."
Marion Local might have the MAC to lean on, but Kirtland has found its own ways to mold a state power.
When: 10 a.m. Friday, TV coverage on Spectrum cable.
Where: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton
About Kirtland: Making its seventh state final appearance in eight years, this run has been all about a dominant defense and an offense that gets the job quickly. Kirtland had seven shutouts in the first 12 weeks, when it never gave up more than a touchdown to any opponent. The competition got closer for a 20-14 win vs. Mogadore for a regional championship and 35-18 victory against Beverly Fort Frye in last week's state semifinals. For the second straight year, Joey Torok and Jake Neibecker have run for more than 1,000 yards to get Kirtland here. Torok has 1,726 yards rushing — 2,158 all-purpose yards — and 35 touchdowns. Neibecker scored 15 times while rushing for 1,116 yards. Quarterback Tommy Powers threw for 1,010 yards, while the defense has been led by Kent State recruit Jack Bailey up front, junior linebacker Kaleb Stephenson, returning All-Ohio cornerback Dominic Capretta and emerging sophomore defensive back Mason Sullivan.
About Marion Local: The Flyers can tie St. Ignatius for the OHSAA record with an 11th state football championship by beating Kirtland. They earned No. 10 last year with a 34-11 win vs. the Hornets. Even then, a rematch seemed inevitable. Quarterback Nathan Bruns and Nick Tangeman connected six times for 120 yards and two touchdowns in last year's win, and both are back. Bruns has thrown for 2,537 yards and 27 touchdowns to nine interceptions. Tangeman turned 53 receptions into 1,206 yards and 17 TDs. In addition to football, the 6-foot-6 Bruns led Marion Local to last season's Division IV state boys basketball championship. The basketball team will again be D-IV favorites, but Bruns first is looking for a third straight state football title.
Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.
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