Kirtland racked up a season-high 501 yards of offense in a 44-0 win at Edgewood on Friday.
With the win, the Hornets improved to 9-0 and unofficially locked up the No. 1 seed in the Region 21 playoffs.
“The offensive line was getting a great push all night, which really opens up the offense for everyone,” said Kirtland’s Tommy Gogolin, who ran for 104 yards on 10 carries. “The boys up front and the blocking were opening up holes all night and the play calling was working for everyone too.”
Gogolin eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the second straight game and the third time this season.
The Hornets ran for 373 yards on 47 carries.
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Seven different Kirtland ball carriers recorded at least five carries and 10 different players rushed at least one time in the game.
Will Beers ran for 87 yards on five carries with two touchdowns and Rocco Alfieri added 57 yards on nine carries with a score. Macguire Boyd and Jake LaVerde also ran for touchdowns in the win.
LaVerde opened the scoring with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Gino Blasini, who continues to terrorize opposing secondaries.
Blasini caught five passes for 103 yards.
“The key to finding a lot of space to make big plays was using our run game as a way to make the opposing team load up the box and worry only about the run,” Blasini said. “We have such great running backs that they have to watch out for and our offensive line is amazing, so every team bites on the run, and then I will just sneak behind the safety and Jake will make a great throw.”
LaVerde added a one-yard touchdown run with 6:25 left in the first quarter to push the Kirtland lead to 13-0.
Alfieri ran for a five-yard touchdown early in the second quarter and Boyd scored on a 10-yard run with 3:21 left in the first half.
Nick Barisic added a 37-yard field goal with one second left in the half to increase the Kirtland lead to 30-0 at the break.
Beers ran for fourth-quarter touchdowns of nine and 60 yards to close out the scoring.
LaVerde completed 8-of-15 passes for 128 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
His favorite target all season has been Blasini, who now has 22 receptions for 495 yards and six scores.
“Jake and I put a lot of work in the offseason getting our chemistry better and better every day,” Blasini said. “We still have a lot of timing to get down with each other but it is getting better and better every day. It helps us be successful because teams have to worry about other things, not just loading the box and having to stop the run.”
As good as Kirtland’s offense was, its defense was just as effective.
The Hornets limited the Warriors to just 88 yards of offense, 41 on the ground and 47 through the air.
Edgewood picked up just five first downs while the Hornets racked up 28.
Kirtland also shut down Edgewood’s top players.
Tony Hall, who threw for 378 yards and four touchdowns last week, completed just 7-of-18 passes for 47 yards, and wide receiver Christian Cunningham went without a catch after hauling in nine passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns last week.
Kirtland closes out the regular season next Friday at home against Orange.
