Kirtland returned an interception and a punt for touchdowns and also ran for 280 yards in a 48-0 nonconference win over visiting Villa Angela-St. Joseph on Friday.
The Hornets scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to build a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter and then Dawson Cosgrove returned a punt 65 yards and Dominic Capretta returned an interception for a score 48 seconds later to put the game away with 3:11 remaining in the first half.
“That kind of broke it open to get them back-to-back,” said Kirtland coach Tiger LaVerde. “The special teams and defensive touchdowns kind of broke their sails a little bit.”
Kirtland’s offense had accumulated 210 yards of offense even before the big plays on defense and special teams.
Jake Neibecker, who scored on runs of 3 and 23 yards, carried the ball 14 times for a game-high 120 yards.
“We are really starting to come together well as an offensive unit and it’s a lot of fun,” Neibecker said. “The line is doing an incredible job of opening up holes all game. When we pound it between the tackles like we do, teams don’t want to take that all night, so it really starts to open up. Our speed on the edge is huge for outside runs which were there for us tonight too.”
Joey Torok opened the game with a 5-yard touchdown run on the Hornets’ opening possession of the game. He finished with 61 yards on 11 carries and Ryan Lipps ran for 49 yards on seven touches.
Capretta had a pair of interceptions, highlighted by the one he returned for a score.
“I had just got moved back to safety for that play and I was expecting a pass and I knew they had been hitting No. 10 up the seam a lot,” Capretta said. “I had my eyes on him right from the snap and as soon as it went through his hands I just threw a hand up trying to make a play and I made it. I was just surprised, I didn’t expect to be in the end zone tonight and I got there. It’s a pretty cool feeling.”
Kirtland held the Vikings to just 132 yards of offense on 44 plays.
The Hornets gained 332 yards and were 4-for-4 on fourth down attempts.
“We’re just trying to get better every single day and execute the things we want to execute against the different fronts we’re going to see,” LaVerde said. “We never know week to week what we’re going to see, so it’s a little bit of chess match once we see what they’re lining up in.”
Kirtland improved to 3-0 on the year. The Hornets host winless Richmond Heights on Sept. 15.
