After missing last week’s win at Cardinal, Joey Torok returned to action with 92 rushing yards and two touchdowns to lead Kirtland to a 55-0 rout at Fairport Harding on Thursday.
Torok carried the football just six times and scored on runs of 4 and 24 yards in leading the Hornets to an 8-0 start.
“I’ve been a little beat up, so I’ve missed some time lately but it felt nice to get out there and play again,” Torok said. “It’s been frustrating being sidelined.”
Dylan Fulco gave Kirtland a 7-0 lead when he scored on an 8-yard run with 7:25 left in the first quarter. Jake Neibecker added a 4-yard touchdown run less than two minutes later to give the Hornets a two-score lead.
Torok then scored back-to-back touchdowns to push the lead to 28-0.
Dylan Aquila, who was 7-for-7 on extra point attempts, added a 4-yard touchdown run and Luke Camino connected with Connor Gron on a 55-yard scoring pass to close out the first half with the Hornets up 42-0.
Tyler McCrory and Chaz McPeak both broke long touchdown runs in the second half. McCrory’s covered 62 yards while McPeak ran it in from the Fairport 49.
In all, 14 different Kirtland players carried the football for the Hornets, who rushed for 331 yards on 40 carries.
McCrory finished with 68 yards on three carries and McPeak finished with 49. Neibecker carried eight times for 40 yards and Mike Zeuli rushed once for 24.
“It’s awesome having so many backs that can carry the ball with success,” Torok said. “It’s great because if one person goes down with an injury, we feel comfortable putting someone in and we will have complete confidence in them.”
Kirtland’s defense limited Fairport to just 105 yards of offense.
Dominic Capretta and Mason Sullivan both picked off passes in the win.
Kirtland improved to 5-0 in the Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division. The Hornets travel to Cuyahoga Heights next Friday.
