KIRTLAND - Fort Frye got down early and never recovered.
Trailing by three touchdowns at the conclusion of the opening period, the Eric Huck-coached Cadets were unable to rally and dropped a 49-7 decision to host and defending state champion Kirtland in an Ohio Division V playoff opener Saturday night.
No. 8 seed FFHS exits with an 8-3 overall record, while undefeated and top-seeded Kirtland (11-0) advances.
Article Photos
Photo courtesy of Pam Brooker
Fort Frye seniors’ (left to right) Tyser Shilling, Spencer Lang, Dylan Bowman, Max Alsbach, Tyson Riggs, and Justin Massey played in their last prep football game against Kirtland in a Division V playoff game Saturday night.
The Cadets averted a shutout in the fourth quarter when junior quarterback Chandler Lang hit senior tight end Tyser Shilling with a 65-yard scoring strike. Lang then kicked the extra point.
Lang completed nine of 24 passes for 209 yards and one TD. Shilling had three catches for 141 yards and one TD. Max Alsbach rushed for 51 yards on 17 carries and also had a 21-yard pass reception.
Kirtland senior Damon Washington led three 100-yard plus ground gainers with 179 yards on nine carries and one TD. He also had three catches for 29 yards, and one pick-6 of 32 yards.
Fact Box
Ohio Division V
Playoffs
at Kirtland High
Kirtland 49, Fort Frye 7
Fort Frye (8-3) 0 0 0 7 - 7
Kirtland (11-0) 21 14 14 0 - 49
1st quarter
K: Sam Kukura, 50 run (Kyle Adams kick), 9:17
K: Damon Washington, 32 interception (Adams kick), 8:19
K: Washington, 57 run (Adams kick), 6:27
2nd quarter
K: Anthony Veneri, 5 pass from Scott Eilerman (Adams kick), 11:54
K: Joe Godec, 5 run (Adams kick), 4:09
3rd quarter
K: Kukura, 51 run (Adams kick),
K: Adam Hess, 3 run (Adams kick),
4th quarter
FF: Tyser Shilling, 65 pass from Chandler Lang (Chandler Lang kick), 11:47
Team stats
Fort Frye - first downs 10, rushes/yds 33/87, passing yds 209, total yds 296, pen/yds 1/5, punts/avg 2/25, fumbles/lost 0/0
Kirtland - first downs 15, rushes/yds 36/486, passing yds 59, total yds 545, pen/yds 3/22, punts/avg 1/32, fumbles/lost 0/0
Individual stats
Fort Frye - rushing: Alsbach 17-51, C.Lang 10-25, S.Lang 6-11; passing: C.Lang 9-24-209-1TD-1INT; receiving: Shilling 3-141-1TD
Kirtland - rushing: Washington 9-179-1TD, Kukura 4-127-2TD, Hess 10-112-1TD; passing: Eilerman 7-12-56-1TD; receiving: Washington 3-29, Veneri 2-16-1TD
Sam Kukura added 127 yards on four attempts and two TDs, while Adam Hess had 112 yards on 10 totes and one score.
Fort Frye got off to a good start shortly after the opening kickoff when Lang completed a 26-yard pass to Shilling to the Kirtland 35.
But on a fourth-down situation, Lang's throw to a wide-open receiver was dropped, and the Cadets turned the ball over on downs.
On Kirtland's first offensive possession, Washington ran 15 yards for a first down, and then Kukura took a Scott Eilerman handoff and raced 50 yards to paydirt for a a 6-0 Hornets' advantage.
Two plays, one score, and a PAT.
On Fort Frye's second possession, Lang's throw was intercepted by the 6-foot, 170-pound Washington and returned 32 yards to the end zone for a 13-0 Kirtland lead.
Almost halfway through the opening stanza, the Tiger Laverde-coached Hornets' advantage bulged to 21-0 when Washington scored his second TD of the contest on a 57-yard run.
Early in the second quarter, Eilerman hit Anthony Veneri with a five-yard scoring strike, and after Adams' kick, Kirtland owned a commanding 28-0 lead.
Later in the period, a fourth Hornet got into the scoring act when Joe Godec ran five yards into the end zone.
Just before the half, Fort Frye moved the chains, and Chandler Lang passed to older brother Spencer Lang in the end zone, but the throw was broken up by Veneri.
At the intermission, the Cadets were down 35-0.
The rout resumed in the third quarter when Kukura raced 50 yards to paydirt to make it 42-0.
Late in the period, Fort Frye had its best scoring opportunity of the game up to that point when Chandler Lang completed a 53-yard pass to Shilling to the Kirtland 16. From there, the Cadets ran the ball to the five where on a fourth-and-goal, they turned the ball over on downs when Lang was stopped just short of the goal-line.
Capitalizing on its defensive stand, Kirtland, sparked by Washington's 89-yard run to the Fort Frye two, stretched its lead to 49-0 on Hess' short end zone run.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Lang hooked up with Shilling to get the Cadets on the scoreboard.
Notes: Fort Frye dressed 27 players while Kirtland had 89 in uniform...Fort Frye sold 187 presale tickets for the playoff game at Kirtland...Fort Frye's only setbacks during the regular season were 38-13 to Hannibal River and 49-6 to Madonna...After losing its season opener at River, the Cadets bounced back and won their next two games before falling at Madonna. Going into Week 5 of the season, they were 2-2 but then won six in a row to clinch the school's first playoff berth since 2000...This fall, Fort Frye shared the Pioneer Valley Conference championship with Monroe Central and River...Fort Frye is expected to graduate six football players in the spring of 2013 - Spencer Lang, Tyser Shilling, Max Alsbach, Dylan Bowman, Tyson Riggs, and Justin Massey.
