by *cover photo by Tyler Stotsky
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Kirtland defeated Ostego tonight 39-13 after a razor thin close first half that saw the Hornet lead at 15-13. The Hornets pulled away in the second half with big hits and bigger plays! They will now play for the Division 5 State Championship next weekend.
Kirtland drew first blood only 90 seconds into the game when Mason Sullivan scored from 4 yards out to get the scoring underway. They would make the 2-point conversion and it was 8-0 before anyone could blink.
It looked as though the Knights would go three and out on their first drive but then converted a fake punt that no one saw coming. The drive continued to soak up time and move down the field until Michael Gonzalez took one in from 2 yards out to cut the lead to 8-7 with 4:11 to go in the opening quarter.
After forcing a three and out, the Knights would make a big mistake resulting in a Danny Davidson interception for Kirtland they gave the Hornets the ball right back with a chance to score. They wasted no time and this time it was a Antony DeMarco rush from 24 yards away into the endzone to build the Kirtland to 15-7 with 1:19 still to go in the first.
Ostego opened the second quarter with another nice and timely drive. This time a Joseph Dzierwa to Brayden Timko connection on a crucial fourth down for 22 yards kept the drive alive. Moments later they ran a trick play that saw Noah Dzierwa find Chase Helberg in the corner of the endzone on a halfback touchdown pass.
The half would end by the 15-13 Kirtland leading score. The Hornets had a chance late to punch another one in but got stopped at the goal line on fourth down.
The second half started out slow with both teams punting until Kirtland got heated up. It was vintage Mason Sullivan as he broke lose breaking countless tackles on his way to a 79-yard touchdown run that brought the frozen Byers field crowd to its feet! This gave the Hornets a 22-13 lead late in the third quarter.
After a 33-yard Field Goal by Mario Roding made it 25-12 Kirtland, The Hornets would begin to put it away for good. First it was a 80 yard touchdown run by Demarco to make it 32-13 with only 7:22 left in the game. Then, it was Ramon Lescano going 44 yards to pay dirt as Kirtland sealed it 39-13 for the win.
