by Perry, Ohio – On a cold, blustery night at Alumni Stadium, offense was a premium.
The Kirtland Hornets, winners of 52 straight games, did enough to advance to the regional championship once again.
Senior running back Mason Rus had 29 carries for 230 yards and two scores Saturday evening. This propelled Kirtland to a 25-7 win over Garrettsville Garfield in a Division V, Region 17 semifinal.
Saturday’s win was Kirtland’s 13th regional final in a 14-year timespan.
Both teams stepped up early and often in the first quarter, forcing punts. Senior Gage Sullivan had a 65-yard punt in the first quarter to pin the G-Men deep.
The G-Men picked up a first down on the drive when Swigonski found Demma for a 16-yard gain, but were forced to punt later.
In the second quarter, Kirtland put points on the board.
They got into the red zone, thanks to their vaunted rushing attack, but had to settle for a field goal. Sophomore kicker Nick Barisic converted from 23 yards out to give Kirtland a 3-0 lead.
After a punt, Kirtland would march down the field and pick up even more points. Senior Mason Rus took it in from nine yards out, but the point after was blocked, giving Kirtland a 9-0 lead halfway through the second.
The Hornet defense stepped up once again, as senior Gage Sullivan picked off a pass and set the Hornets up with great field position. They would move into the red zone, but the G-Men defense stepped up to the task, and Kirtland came away empty due to a missed field goal.
Kirtland would take a 9-0 lead going into the halftime break, and would add to it in the third quarter.
On the opening drive of the second half, Mason Rus broke off a 43-yard gain to put the Hornets in the red zone once again. He would punch it in from two yards out to increase the lead to 15-0.
Nick Barisic converted his second field goal of the game, to put the Hornets up 18-0 with 2:43 left in the third.
In the fourth quarter, senior quarterback Brody Swigonski completed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Stoller to put the G-Men on the board with 6:07 left.
The reception was one of only three completions Saturday evening for both teams.
Kirtland marched down the field on their ensuing drive, looking to put the game away. On a critical fourth down, they drew the Garfield defense offside and picked up the first down.
They would put an exclamation point on the game when junior Tommy Gogolin ran it in from nine yards out with 1:09 left to cap the scoring.
Top-seeded Kirtland will face off against South Range for the third season in a row. The Raiders defeated Garaway, 15-13, in their semifinal.
Garrettsvile Garfield got a solid effort from senior running back Anthony Demma despite the loss. Demma had 22 carries for 94 yards. The G-Men’s season ends at 11-1.
