KIRTLAND, Ohio — The seniors who play football for Kirtland High School are trying to finish their careers undefeated.

What You Need To Know

  • The Kirtland Hornets have built a dynasty during head coach Tiger LaVerde’s time at the school, winning multiple state championships

  • The team will play Versailles in the OHSAA state championship Saturday

  • Pierce Boyd and Jonathan Withrow are both senior captains leading the squad

Members of the Kirtland Hornets football team are doing what they love — playing the game.

“I just love the guys, playing and getting to hit people. I mean, you can do stuff on the field that you can’t do off the field, so it’s pretty great,” said tight end Pierce Boyd.

Jonathan Withrow also loves the game and is staying focused as the team prepares for states.

“We’ve gone with the one game at a time mentality. We’ve really never talked about it, we never really mentioned it too much, we really try not to bring it up so we don’t jinx ourselves,” said Withrow, a senior left tackle. 

The senior class has never lost a game and has a chance to win a fourth straight state championship.

“It’s crazy, because not many kids even have a chance to go to the states, and we’ve been here now for a fourth year in a row. It’s really crazy to think about,” said Withrow. 

Tiger LaVerde has led the Hornets for over 15 seasons. He says with the challenges his team has gone through with COVID-19 and other obstacles, their work ethic has helped maintain success.

“These kids have been remarkable how they’ve dealt with everything. You know, being homeschooled through the COVID and then practicing with masks and then without masks and just everything they’ve had to go through the last two years,” said LaVerde. 

Signs of support fill the streets outside the school, with a town ready to invade Canton for the state championship.

“Like, you see it everywhere, we’ll go out to dinner and people will come up to us that like I’ve never seen before, but they’re from here they’re like, ‘Oh, congratulations, you guys keep doing it'. It’s just crazy,” said Withrow. 

These seniors will never forget the brotherhood that’s been built, many playing together since childhood.

“After every game, we’ll go to someone’s house, we’ll all hangout, we’re very close to each other,” said Boyd.

“We’re like family now. I mean, I love every single one of the kids I play with, it’s crazy. Like, we hang out after school, we see each other all the time, it’s not just like we’re friends on the football field, but we’re friends outside of the game as well,” said Withrow.  ​

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