Kirtland football team motivated by rare season-ending loss

Aug. 16—The lights were already on in the Kirtland football team's weight room as George Prusock and Philip LaVerde wandered in for a morning lift.

Muscles were still sore and wounds were still fresh from the previous day, when the Hornets dropped a 20-16 decision to Versailles in the Division V state championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

The feeling that morning was somewhat unfamiliar — almost weird — since it was the first time in their high school careers that Prusock, LaVerde and their teammates had lost a game. The state championship game loss ended Kirtland's 55-game winning streak, which was the longest winning streak in the nation at that time.

As the clanking sound of weights getting clamped onto bars filled the room, Prusock, LaVerde and other underclassmen got back to work for a 2022 season that was eight months away.

"Ever since that game, we've worked out and have done everything as a team," LaVerde said. "That (loss) helped us."

Helped the Hornets come closer together and realize that a missed step here and missed step there is the difference between a gold trophy and a silver one.

Not that EITHER trophy is bad. Heck, most — if not all — programs in Ohio would love to have the trophy collection Kirtland has accumulated in the past decade, which includes six state championships trophies and four state runner-up awards.

But when your program has entered an offseason on a losing note only FOUR times in a 10-year span, well, that's a bitter pill.

That's why the Hornets were back in the weight room — on their own accord in a non-mandatory lift — the day after the state championship loss.

"The fact we probably played our worst game of the year ..." Prusock lamented. "I've watched it multiple times and you can see the mistakes — all around. That motivates us."

When the whistle blew for the first official day of practice on Aug. 1, it really wasn't the first day of preparation for the Hornets. Countless lifting sessions, summer 7-on-7s and 10 OHSAA-approved "acclimation" days did that.

But suffice to say, this is a hungry swarm of Hornets — with their edge sharpened that much more because of a taste of defeat that hadn't touched their lips in quite some time.

"That game, that loss prepared us for anything now," said senior Tommy Gogolin. "Now we have something to work for."

Coach Tiger LaVerde takes the loss in stride. He shrugs and says, "we didn't play well enough to win. We didn't execute well enough and lost by four. But it was still a great year."

What the highly successful Kirtland coach has seen all fall camp is a motivated, high-energy — perhaps a tinge angry — team. The Hornets have dominated all four teams they've seen in scrimmages, including a four-way scrimmage that included Division I Strongsville, Division II North and Division V West Lafayette Ridgewood.

The 27-0 walloping of Division III powerhouse Poland in a half of game-situation scrimmaging on Aug. 11 sends Kirtland into a Week 1 game against Harvey on a high note, brimming with confidence.

"I think we're a lot closer team than last year," Gogolin said. "We've been together from Kindergarten all the way through. We work hard together and that's what has gotten us to where we are today."

The 2022 Hornets are similar to previous editions in that they'll hang their hats — as usual — on a run-oriented offense and a fast, aggressive defense. While there are 22 returning letterwinners, one deviation from the past is a small senior class, 11 of them in all.

The small senior class is a reflection of sorts of Kirtland dropping from Division V last year to Division VI this year.

"We've had 15-22 seniors the last 10 or 12 years," Coach LaVerde said. "This year's 11 is definitely the smallest we've had. It's a concern, but these kids have played a lot of football. A lot of our juniors played last year as sophomores. And we started a few freshmen last year, too.

"We have a lot of guys back, but the senior class is small."

Despite the small senior class, five starters return on offense and seven return on defense.

While 2021 Tony Fisher Award Mason Rus and fellow All-Ohio playmaker Gage Sullivan are gone, the next two leading rushers — Gogolin and Philip LaVerde — are back. The line returns the left side — guard Prusock and tackle Joey Pekar — as well as tight end Adam Knack.

The big question is at quarterback, where senior Luke Chuko and freshman Jake LaVerde have both impressed in the fall came. Both could play on Friday nights this fall.

"Both Luke and Jakey had good summers," LaVerde said. "Chuko is an AP student. Very intelligent. Jakey has been quarterbacking this offense since first grade. They are both capable.

"What we ask of our quarterback in this offense is to take care of the ball, play-action pass, hide the ball and when you've got a guy open, hit him. They can both do that. Our offense is designed for running backs to get a bulk of the carries. The quarterback is kind of a facilitator."

Defensively, sophomore Danny Alfieri and senior Daven Paten return on the line, Philip Laverde and junior MacGuire Boyd are back at linebacker, and all three defensive backs return — junior Gino Blasini, junior Will Sayle and senior Gogolin.

Being healthy is a big key. After all, Boyd and Knack missed most of last season with leg injuries, and Philip LaVerde battled a back fracture and a late-season concussion.

All are difference-makers in a big way, Prusock noted.

"I call (Phillip) Psycho," the three-time All-Ohioan said. "When he's healthy and on the field, he's flying around. When he's in the game, he's flying through holes and making tackles. He's just a psycho."

The challenges of filling holes created by graduation and overcoming a small senior class are joined by another challenge, as Kirtland moves from Division V to Division VI this year. Rest assured, moving down a division isn't a break.

Not only did Division V state runner-up Kirtland move down, but so did Division V state champ Versailles. Moving up from Division VII is 2021 state champion Marion Local. Last year's Division VI state champion (Carey) and runner-up (Coldwater) are still in that division.

In short, Division VI is a hammer house of talent this year.

"Lotta big teams and big names," Gogolin said.

But their coach has them focused in on the task at hand — not Week 16.

"All that is out of our control. It doesn't matter to me," LaVerde said of the divisional change. "We can only control what we can control, and that's how we prepare every day in practice."

After losing a rare game, albeit in a state championship game, each and every one of those practices and lifting sessions have been on point. It had been so long since Kirtland had ended a season with a loss, the bitter taste of it energized the offseason that much more.

"We probably thought we were better than we were," Philip LaVerde said. "That loss showed us we can't take anything for granted."