The scoreboard doesn’t show it but Kirtland had its share of trouble in a 49-14 win over visiting Richmond Heights on Friday.
Kirtland ran for 375 yards in the win but the Hornets turned the ball over three times and had several other miscues.
“In the first half, specifically the first quarter, we weren’t playing well,” said Joey Torok, who ran for 112 yards and returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown. “We were making mental errors and missing tackles, but we came together and picked it up. We got a few interceptions and started scoring.”
Following a Richmond Heights punt, the Hornets took their first offensive possession to the Spartans’ 1, where Dylan Fulco’s fourth down pass fell incomplete.
Kirtland’s defense forced a quick three-and-out and the offense needed just three plays to punch the ball into the end zone. Fulco completed a 31-yard pass to Max Janas and Torok ran for six yards to the Richmond Heights 19.
Jake Neibecker, who ran for 146 yards on nine carries, scored the first of his two touchdowns on the next play.
Richmond Heights pulled to within 7-6 on a 50-yard touchdown pass with 11:02 left in the first half.
Kirtland’s next drive resulted in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Fulco to Tyler McCrory but the Hornets failed to convert the extra point and led 13-6.
The Spartans drove into Kirtland territory but Torok picked off a pass and returned it to the Hornets’ 25.
Neibecker scored on a 68-yard run three plays later and Dylan Aquila punched in the 2-point conversion to give the Hornets a 21-6 lead.
Torok returned an interception 49 yards for a score on the next play and the Hornets built a 42-6 halftime lead.
“We were in Cover 3 and the outside guy ran a post and the inside ran a wheel,” Torok said. “I just split the receivers and broke when he threw it. I got some great blocks from my teammates and was able to get in the end zone. This play got us pumped up and we picked it up from there.”
Dominic Capretta recorded a pick-6 on Richmond Heights’ next drive and Fulco threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Mike Zeuli late in the half.
Carson Andonian ran for a 3-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring for the Hornets, who improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division.
Connor Gron and Gino Rosson also picked off passes for the Hornets.
“It all starts with the D-line getting pressure on the quarterback,” Torok said. “This caused him to make some throws he maybe shouldn’t have and we made him pay for it. All credit goes to the defensive line.”
The Hornets have plenty of work to do before heading to Berkshire on Friday.
“After the game, coach didn’t have to say much,” Torok said. “We knew that we played poorly and there are a lot of things to fix.”
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