Maltarich sets receiving record in West Holmes' rout

MONROE TOWNSHIP — With his six-yard yard touchdown catch in the first quarter of West Holmes’ 62-0 win over Mount Vernon, Kyle Maltarich became the Daily Record area’s all-time leading receiver, surpassing Triway’s Tyler Davis, who finished his career with 2,842 yards.

Maltarich had quite a first quarter en route to his record-setting reception. On the first series of the game, the swift senior caught a pair of passes, one for 20 yards, the second a 34-yard touchdown toss from Morgan Smith to give the Knights a 7-0 lead 70 seconds into the game.

Moments later, Smith hit Nate Fair on a 24-yard scoring strike to put West Holmes up 14-0 after Alex Pringle hit the second of his eight straight point after touchdown kicks.

Maltarich then intercepted a Jake Taylor pass near midfield and raced 50 yards to pay dirt for a 21-0 lead at the 4:30 mark of the opening period of play.

After the Knights recovered an onside kick, the senior snagged a 10-yard pass for a first down, and then three plays later snared a six-yard scoring strike from Smith to give him 2,843 yards and the area's all-time receiving record.

It also gave the Knights a 28-0 lead with 3:30 to play in the first quarter.

A 58-yard pass from Smith to Logan Zollars set up another Fair touchdown catch, this one from four yards out, and West Holmes led 35-0 with 17 seconds to play in the first quarter.

Maltarich capped off his huge night with a 49-yard touchdown reception, adding to his all-time area lead in touchdown receptions with 38. He recently passed another former Triway star, Jordon Miller, who previously held the TD reception mark of 33, set in 2014.

"Now that I know I have that record, it's a nice accomplishment," Maltarich said. "But when I come out here, it takes 11. I'm not so much interested in what I do personally, but what I can do for the team. And if I can produce numbers like that, it's awesome, because I'm doing it for my brothers."

When you consider all the great athletes who have played at all the schools in the Daily Record coverage area, that is quite an accomplishment for Maltarich, especially since he missed most of his sophomore season due to an injury.

As a junior, he established great chemistry with last year’s record-setting quarterback Mason Wolfe, hauling in 21 TD passes on his way to 1,345 yards.

That success carried over into this season, despite teaming up with a different quarterback and suffering an injury in the season opener that cost him two games. Maltarich and Morgan Smith have combined for 17 touchdowns this year.

"Morgan is putting together a great year," Maltarich said. "It's coming together really well for him. He is absolutely versatile with his legs, and there wasn't a ball that wasn't on the money tonight. He hit me in perfect stride.

"Last year it was the same with Mason Wolfe," he continued. "And my sophomore year, it was Noah Clark. All of them hitting me in perfect stride. When you have quarterbacks who can just find you like that, it makes my job so much easier."

Smith finished his evening against the Yellow Jackets after the first half, as the Knights held a 56-0 lead at intermission after a touchdown run by Gus Warner and an eight-yard touchdown toss from Smith to senior Graham Martin.

Smith completed 21 of 27 passes for 394 yards and six touchdowns, connecting with seven different receivers on the night.

"It's awesome throwing to these guys," Smith said. "Even on short passes, there's the chance they can take it to the house every time."

West Holmes coach Zach Gardner commended Maltarich and all the West Holmes seniors for their fine showing against Mount Vernon, capping the regular season off at 8-2, 6-1 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference. The Yellow Jackets finished 2-8, 1-6.

"Tonight was all about our seniors," Gardner said. "That is a group that has poured their blood, sweat and tears into this program, and for them to have a senior night like this is something very, very special.

"Seeing the way he came back from that first-game injury this year tells you everything you need to know about him and the type of character that Kyle Maltarich has," the coach continued. "He's selfless, tough. When your best football player is your best teammate and your best leader, that's when you have some special, and we have that with Kyle Maltarich."

Gardner added that Maltarich just wants to win.

"He comes from a football family, from his grandpa and his dad, and they obviously raised him to be part of a football family," he said. "And his cousin (Nate Fair) isn't bad, either."

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Football: Maltarich breaks another record in West Holmes' win