CANTON, Ohio — Marion Local has missed just one state championship game in the last 12 years.
So has Kirtland.
Odds favor their chances of making it back to next year’s OHSAA Division VI state championship, barring any competitive balance shakeup that might push one to another division. For Kirtland (15-1), those chances also seem favorable with coach Tiger LaVerde’s smallest senior class — only 11 players — in 15 years.
Those few seniors, however, proved potential pales in comparison to the work that is required to reach the final weekend of the high school football season. As sixth-graders, they didn’t win a game. They lost more than they won the next year, too, but slowly showed growth.
“I just hope we showed all of the younger kids, you don’t have to be good in seventh, eighth and ninth grade to be a good varsity player,” said senior linebacker Philip LaVerde, one of the coach’s two sons on this year’s team. “We probably spent more time in the weight room the last four years than at home. I hope we showed the younger kids how to work hard. Then they’ll be great.”
The elder LaVerde stopped himself before choking up while summarizing this senior class after Saturday’s 14-6 loss to the Flyers. He watched them every game during that winless year in middle school. He got to coach both of his sons, including starting freshman quarterback Jake LaVerde this season.
“I’m so proud of these kids,” he said. “What they accomplished these four years is incredible.”
They set an example for the 12 juniors and sophomores who started on this run to the state title game.
“I hope I showed these kids how to be the best leader they can and how to take control of a locker room,” senior guard George Prusock said, “and just go out there and play every play like it’s your last.”
Who’s coming back?
Six starters are slated to return on offense, including the right side of the offensive line with sophomore center Casey Carkhuff, sophomore right guard Matthew Kahley and junior right tackle Brady Burich to block for Jake LaVerde with junior fullback Rocco Alfieri, who rushed for a team-high 77 yards on 21 carries against Marion Local.
Alfieri ran for 1,340 yards and 24 TDs this season. He should provide a strong one-two punch at the skill positions with tight end Gino Blasini, who can stretch the field with his 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame. Blasini came up with two interceptions on Saturday and finished this season on offense with 540 yards and seven TDs on 26 receptions. He also rushed for another 302 yards.
Defensively, Blasini paced the secondary with six interceptions. His two-pick performance in the state finals passed freshman safety Evan Koprowski, who emerged this year with five picks. Cornerback Will Sayle had four in his junior campaign.
All three, along with junior safety Will Beers, lead a talented secondary. They play behind a hard-hitting group expected to return at linebacker, including Alfieri and Macguire Boyd. Carkhuff, sophomore defensive tackle Danny Alfieri and junior end Will Bates are experienced up front.
Who’s graduating?
Prusock won a state championship as a starting sophomore in 2020, when Kirtland used the shortened six-game regular season to knock off two Division I programs in Solon and Shaker Heights. He served as Kirtland’s lead anchor on the offensive line, which also will graduate left tackle Joe Pekar.
Tommy Gogolin starred the last two years at running back and cornerback. He led the ground game with 1,661 yards and 16 TDs this season, including a massive 363-yard performance in the state semifinals vs. Beverly Fort Frye.
Then there’s Philip LaVerde, the coach’s older son who anchored the group of linebackers with Boyd and Rocco Alfieri.
Biggest question mark
Will Marion Local remain in Division VI?
The Flyers’ adjusted enrollment this season of 113 is the lowest in Division VI, along with four other schools. The three biggest Division VII programs have an adjusted enrollment of 112.
While the OHSAA is in the first of its two-year base enrollment cycle, competitive balance opens change every year. The Flyers moved down from Division VI to D-VI in 2019 and won two state titles there, including last year.
The OHSAA should announce competitive balance adjustments for the 2023 season next spring.
Toughest Northeast Ohio challengers
⦁ Columbia: Jason Ward’s program made it to the regional finals for the first time in school history. The Raiders have bounced between Region 21 with Kirtland and Region 22, where they played this year, but are slated to bring back leading rusher Marco Cirigliano (2,561 yards, 42 TDs). They must replace their top five tacklers on defense and will have a new quarterback, but leading sack artist Gavin Tollett is still a junior.
⦁ Cuyahoga Heights: The last program to keep Kirtland out of the state finals, Cuyahoga Heights did that in the 2016 regional finals. The Red Wolves also are a former Chagrin Valley Conference rival before the CVC reshuffled its divisions. Leading tackler Francis Connors is slated to return for his senior year at linebacker with a few more playmakers on both sides of the ball.
⦁ Mogadore: The Wildcats are Northeast Ohio’s most prestigious small school outside of Kirtland. Granted, the Hornets handed them a 30-0 loss in this year’s regional finals, but Mogadore hasn’t missed the playoffs this decade.
Way too early state top 10
1. Kirtland, 2. Marion Local, 3. Columbia, 4. Versailles, 5. Columbus Grove, 6. Cuyahoga Heights, 7. North Robinson Col. Crawford, 8. New Madison Tri-Village, 9. Nelsonville-York, 10. Ashland Crestview.
The OHSAA is in the first year of its two-year enrollment cycle. Any divisional realignment next season will be based solely on competitive balance.
Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email (mgoul@cleveland.com).
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