Kirtland advances to seventh state football championship game, defeating Fort Frye, 35-18

JACKSON TWP., Ohio – Kirtland football coach Tiger LaVerde came into Friday night’s Division VI state semifinal game 6-for-6 in those contests.

Make it 7-for-7 for LaVerde and his Hornets.

Kirtland rolled up 403 yards of rushing offense – with three players going over the 100-yard mark – and pitched a defensive shutout after taking a 3-point lead into the halftime locker room.

The result was a 35-18 victory over Beverly Fort Frye at Massillon Jackson’s Robert Fife Stadium and the school’s seventh trip to the state championship game.

Kirtland (14-0) advances to play Maria Stein Marion Local (13-1) for the second straight year in next weekend's finals at Canton’s Tom Benson Memorial Stadium. The date and time is still to be determined.

“You know what, we gutted it out,” LaVerde said. “We played a much better second half than we did the first half. We kept them off the scoreboard in the second half, and that was the difference. We moved the ball well all night, but defensively in the first half, we didn’t get off the field on third-and-long – one of them was on fourth-and-12.

“But you know what? That’s football. You’re gonna play a good team when you get to this level. (Fort Frye) executed well. They had some good skill guys and they hurt us a bit in the first half, but our kids hung in there and wore them down there at the end.”

Kirtland did not turn the ball over all night and forced two big ones on defense. The second one may have been the game-changer.

On third-and-14 from its own 22, Cadet quarterback Tate Engle – who finished with 84 yards on a 10-for-16 night with three touchdowns – went deep but his pass hung in the air a little too long. It was picked off by Connor Gron at the 40, who tiptoed down the sidelines for 28 yards before being forced out at the 12.

Two plays later, fullback Jake Neibecker – who finished with a game-best 153 yards on 21 carries – carried a few tacklers into the end zone from 5 yards out. That play put Kirtland ahead, 28-18, with 10:26 left in the game.

“It’s unbelievable – there’s not enough I can say about our line,” said Neibecker, who scored two of his team’s five touchdowns Friday night. “Week in and week out, I feel like I answer the same question each and every Friday night. The work so hard and it shows out here. They open huge holes for me and Joey and Tommy and Luke all night. It’s just so much fun running behind them.

“This will be my third state title game in four years. It’s an incredible feeling every year. Seeing the whole community out here, all my teammates, they’re more like family. It’s just an incredible feeling to come back and play one last game with them.”

Fort Frye put together one last charge, driving from its own 31 down to the Kirtland 10 in 15 plays. However, on fourth-and-goal from the 10, a completion to Tyler Fisher was stopped on the 4 for a big turnover on downs with 4:35 remaining.

“We didn’t really make any adjustments at halftime – we just didn’t make any plays in the first half defensively,” LaVerde said. “We couldn’t force punts when we had them in third-and-long situations. In the second half, we guarded a little bit better, we got a little more heat on the quarterback.

“You’ve got to get off the field on third down, that’s the name of the game and we didn’t do that in the first half. We did a much better job of that in the second half.”

For good measure, Kirtland drove those 96 yards in 8 plays, scoring the game-icing touchdown with 1:48 remaining on a 51-yard keeper from quarterback Tommy Powers. Powers finished with 122 yards on 7 carries with two scores Friday night.

“Week in and week out, those guys up front do a nice job for us wearing down the other team,” LaVerde said. “It’s the same formula – we don’t turn the ball over, try to win the line of scrimmage and wear them down with our running game and play great defense. Second half, we did that. First half, we did everything but play great defense.”

The only turnover of the first half occurred on the second play of the game and proved to be a game-changer for Kirtland.

Tailback Tyler Fisher, on a double reverse, attempted a pass and it was picked off by senior Dominic Capretta at the Cadet 42. Four plays later, Joey Torok – who finished with 107 yards on 12 carries – raced in from 21 yards out with 10:31 left in the opening quarter, putting the Hornets ahead, 7-0.

Fort Frye and Kirtland then traded touchdown-for-touchdown for the remainder of the first half until Kirtland literally ran out of time just before halftime. But failed 2-point conversion attempts – three on three touchdowns – were the difference for Kirtland in its 21-18 halftime lead.

The Cadets used three touchdown passes from Tate Engle to score their 18 points to three different receivers – Zane Greenleaf from five, Brian Atkins from 14 and Brendan Huck from 8 yards out, respectively. Huck’s touchdown came with 2:49 left in the first half and capped a 10-play, 60-yard drive.

Adkins’ touchdown came on fourth-and-12 on the 14. Adkins made a diving catch on a fade pass from Engle in the left-corner in the end zone.

Kirtland, meanwhile, did all its damage on the ground, rolling up 200 rushing yards on 19 carries.

Powers, on fourth-and-3 from the 34, scored on a draw up the middle to with 2:36 left in the first, capping a seven-play, 54-yard drive to make it 14-6 after one quarter.

Then, Neibecker, who gained 84 yards on nine first-half carries, capped a seven-play, 64-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge. That play on third-and-goal with 8:12 remaining made it 21-12, Kirtland.

Kirtland threatened on its final drive of the half, but three straight penalties for 20-plus yards made it first-and-37 from the 48. The Hornets drove down to the 18, but only had time to attempt a field goal on fourth down.

“We played well in the first half and we moved the ball well in the second half, we just couldn’t get it in the end zone,” Cadets coach Eric Huck said. “That’s what Kirtland does – they get big goal-line stands. But I’m very proud of our players. We knew we could come out and win this football game, and we came close.

“We are senior-led, but we got a lot of good players all the way through. We brought our 30 compared to (Kirtland’s) 75 or 80, but every single one of these kids are great kids and great football players.”

Dan Gilles is a freelancer from Lorain.