Kirtland vs. Geneva football: Hornets dominant in ground, air attacks in 43-13 win over Eagles

Sep. 16—When Geneva and Kirtland met Sept. 16 in a CVC game, many observers expected a battle in the trenches with the run game.

But the Hornets took to the skies in front of their home crowd with 145 passing yards and three passing scores from Jake LaVerde in a 43-13 victory.

Kirtland remained undefeated on the season at 5-0, while Geneva fell to 3-2 and saw its three-game win streak snapped.

It was the Eagles who scored first as they took the opening possession down the field with some smart throws from quarterback Kenny Young as well as some runs from Luke Smith.

An 18-yard strike from Young to Giovanni Rice got Geneva on the board. But the Kirtland defense from there out was locked in.

Defensive coordinator Ryan Beeler saw his group limit the Eagles to 193 yards of offense. While his side of the ball was on their heels early, he was pleased with how they responded.

Kirtland defensive coordinator Ryan Beeler talks about how his defense adjusted after the opening drive by Geneva @kirtlandsports #NHFootball pic.twitter.com/yAmCp4ZeaF

— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) September 17, 2022

"They caught us off-guard a little bit early," Beeler said. "They showed an ability to pass the ball that we hadn't seen in the film too much. They backed us off a little bit with that, and that allowed them to get some nice runs off as well. When a team can do both, it's hard to stop, you have to be in the right places and need to make plays. We settled down and were able to get them behind the sticks and back to being one dimensional."

Beeler took over head coaching duties from Tiger LaVerde in the third quarter.

Offensively, Kirtland also took its first possession of the game down the field and ended in a Philip LaVerde 16-yard untouched score.

Then after a turnover on downs by Geneva, Kirtland took just a few plays before Rocco Alfieri went 33 yards for the second Hornets score of the first quarter.

While they still made their hay on the ground, Kirtland finished with 336 rushing yards in the contest, the second quarter saw the offense turn into an air-raid type system. Jake LaVerde tossed three touchdowns to three different receivers in that frame alone.

Will Sayle was the first recipient with a 75-yard haul on the first play of the drive. Gino Blasini and Tyler Gogolin also hauled in scores of 25 and 45, respectively.

Gogolin finished with 114 total offensive yards and knew that with how strong the backfield can be running the ball, that opens up the opportunities in the passing game as well.

It was a strong offensive night for @kirtlandsports and Tyler Gogolin talks about how they were able to create opportunities in both the running and passing games #NHFootball pic.twitter.com/zlP2pzkFrL

— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) September 17, 2022

"We were running the ball a lot and forced them down into the box and had some opportunities to go over the top," Gogolin said. "They were in cover zero for a lot of the game, which allowed our guys to have some of those big gains in the air."

Kirtland finished with 439 yards of offense.

But it wasn't a perfect night through the air, as Jake LaVerde did start one of the drives in the second quarter with an interception to Smith. But the Hornets' defense made sure he didn't have a long time to hang his head.

Two plays later, Kirtland forced a fumble that was recovered by Daven Patel that set up the Hornets on the Geneva side of the 50.

"It's nice to go out there after a one-play drive by the offense and get the ball right back to them," Beeler said. "It gives them a chance to settle down and allow the offense to get right back in it and not dwell on what just happened. It was a big point in the game for us."

A second Alfieri rushing touchdown sealed the victory.

Geneva's lone other score came from Bryce Peet, who shed some tacklers for the nine-yard scamper.

The Eagles look to start a new winning streak when they hit the road for a game with Orange on Sept. 23. Kirtland attempts to remain undefeated when it travel to Chagrin Falls the same day