Hornets halt Flyers' championship run

COLUMBUS - Marion Local's drive for five consecutive state titles was denied in stunning fashion on Saturday.

The Kirtland Hornets erased a 13-point halftime deficit and benefitted from a few Flyer turnovers as they pulled off a 22-20 victory in the Division VI state final at Ohio Stadium.   

Joey Bates rushed 34 times for 206 yards and delivered two touchdowns - the biggest being a 57-yard scamper on a fourth-and-a-foot with 2:08 remaining in the game.

Kirtland coach Tiger LaVerde followed that gutsy fourth-down call with a virtual game-deciding one, opting to go for the two-point conversion for the win. It paid off as Owen Lewis connected with Evan Madden to make the score 22-13.

Marion quarterback Cole Griesdorn found Hunter Wilker for an 11-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-long with 1:22 remaining, but the onside kick attempt failed to go 10 yards, and the Hornets became the first team to defeat a Midwest Athletic Conference team in a state championship game since they beat Coldwater in the 2011 Division V state final.

"We just tried to hang in there and find a way to win," Kirtland coach Tiger LaVerde said. "When we had a chance, we wanted to go for the win. That's why we went for it on fourth down and that's why we went for two. We wanted to be up nine."

For the Hornets, it'll be remembered as the one they took away. For the Flyers, though, this game will be remembered as the one that got away.

Marion Local lost two fumbles inside the red zone, threw an interception and Derek Albers had his first extra point attempt blocked by Madden.

"I felt good at halftime," Marion Local coach Tim Goodwin said. "I really did. I thought our defense was playing well and our offense was moving the ball. We just shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times. You've got to give Kirtland credit. They came out in the second half and they beat us. It hasn't happened very often, so you've got to credit them. Obviously we had chances two or three times to score and we shot ourselves in the foot."

The Flyer defense forced a punt after six plays on Kirtland's opening possession and took over at their own 33-yard line following a punt. Cole Griesdorn led the offense down the field with a 19-yard completion to Kyle Homan and a 23-yard hit to Matt Kahlig to move the ball to the 10. Aaron Nietfeld did the rest of the work with two carries for 10 yards - the latter going for a touchdown and putting Marion in front 6-0 five minutes into the first.

Kirtland went three-and-out on its next series. The Hornet secondary played good defense when Marion regained possession, but the Flyers had better offense. They found paydirt again with 3:23 to go in the first. Griesdorn lofted a deep pass down the middle of the field on the first play to a double-covered Hunter Wilker, who came down with a 42-yard catch that had people in the press box saying 'Oh, no he didn't!' Marion was facing a fourth-and-nine from the 14-yard line when Griesdorn threw a perfect pass to a tightly-covered Matt Kahlig for the touchdown.

"They came out and they out-competed us in the first quarter," LaVerde said. "We got whipped in the first quarter. We came out in the second and we got better. It was about the compete level and our kids competed."

Marion was about to put the nail in the coffin late in the first quarter with the ball in the red zone. Then came the first fumble, though some thought the play should have been whistled dead due to forward progress.

Still, the Flyers maintained a 13-0 lead at halftime and Griesdorn was 7-for-11 for 129 yards. The Flyers had outgained the Hornets 169-92 in the frame and limited Kirtland's offense to 2-of-8 on third-down conversions.

"I said 'We need the next score,' " said LaVerde reflecting on his halftime speech. "I said '13-7 is a ballgame and then it's up for grabs and we've got some momentum.' "

To get that score, the Hornets first forced a Flyer punt on their opening drive. Then they went hard-nosed physical football down the field and picked up a pass interference call. They rode Bates the whole way before he punched in for a one-yard touchdown with 3:52 left in the third. Bates carried the ball nine times on the drive for 47 yards and Brad Hauptman's extra point cut the score to 13-7.

Marion Local went smash-mouth right back with Nietfeld on the following series. Nietfeld had short gains and gains of eight, nine and 22 and the Flyers were heading for six when the third quarter ended. However, a fumble inside the five was recovered by Kirtland.

The Hornets went 96 yards to take a 14-13 lead, and Bates was big again on the next series. He had a 36-yard run to move the ball to the Flyer 40. Later in the drive, David Allchin rushed for 17 yards around the end on a fourth-and-two from the 21. Owen Lewis called his own number from two yards out and scored with 4:15 left in the game.

Griesdorn and the Flyers got off to a promising start on the next drive with a 22-yard cross completion to Wilker, but Owen Loncar made a perfect read-and-break on a pass to make an interception. Bates broke free for his 57-yarder moments later.

"The line did a great job all morning long," Bates said. "They opened up the hole and there was one guy and I just knew I had to beat him."

Allchin added 10 carries for 55 yards for the Hornets, who finished with 312 yards of total offense.

Nietfeld rushed 19 times for 107 yards. Griesdorn went 14-of-20 passing for 241 yards. Wilker tallied seven catches for 114 yards and Kahlig added four catches for 90 yards.

The Flyers lost just two games this season by a total of five points. Also ending Saturday was their state-record 24-game postseason win streak.

"The tradition going for the past three years, we're just blessed to be in this position again," said Marion Local senior John Schwieterman, one of 14 seniors on the team. "It just didn't turn out for us the way we wanted."