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The Kirtland Hornets faced off against the South Range Raiders on Saturday, November 16, at Niles McKinley Stadium for the Regional Semifinal game of the 2019 Ohio High School Football Playoffs. Kirtland advanced to the round following a 38-24 victory over Sandy Valley, while South Range strode by Bellaire 30-7.
Kirtland was on the pounce with a touchdown early in the first quarter as Luke Gardner ran for 58 yards to set the pace. With 3:11 remaining in the first, Gardner was back on the attack with a 12 yard rushing touchdown, and the extra point was good to double the score 14-0.
But, the Raiders were prepared to return and made their move to cut the deficit to half in the second quarter. Michael Patrone’s quarter-back sneak put the ball on the 9 yard line, and an encroachment penalty cut half the distance to advance to first and goal on the 5. Patrone’s six yard rush scored the touchdown for the Raiders, and Logan Weaver sent the ball flying through the uprights to slim the score 14-7.
The Hornets caught their wind in the third as they ran two touchdowns to increase the score 28-7. Mason Sullivan picked up the first down for first and goal and ran the ball in for an eight yard touchdown to clock the six points while Mario Rodin put the ball through for the extra point. Gardner was hot on the spot to add another touchdown to the Hornet’s lead, finding space along the sideline for a 23 yard run with 4:05 remaining in the quarter.
With the ball on the three yard line to start the fourth, Gardner juked through the hole to find the end zone on fourth down from the two, keeping the Hornets on the charge with his fourth score of the night as the extra point spiked the score 35-7. A 23 yard field goal from Rodin with 1:10 remaining secured the final score at 38-7, and the Kirtland Hornets punched their one-way ticket to the regional finals to be played on November 23 against Manchester.
“Momentum just got going our way and our kids, man, they played a great game,” said Kirtland head coach Tiger LaVerde. “They didn’t make many mistakes, very few penalties and flags, got a couple turnovers and, you know, the offensive line did their thing and the backs did what they do.”
For the Hornets, Gardner led the charge with 19 carries, 191 yards and 4 touchdowns. Liam Powers was 2-8 on 44 yards through the air with Gage Sullivan on the receiving end. For the Raiders, Dylan Dominguez made 12 carries on 44 yards while Patrone threw 5-14 for 32 yards. Chris Brooks led in receiving with 2 for 24 yards.
