CLEVELAND, Ohio – There may not have been anyone having a better time during Kirtland’s 41-7 win over Galion Northmor in the Division VI state semifinals Friday night than Hornets quarterback Jake LaVerde.
And for good reason.
The junior was never guaranteed to be back on the football field this season after breaking his arm in a 65-16 Week 6 win over Fairview. The only way he would be able to make his way back into the lineup would be for his team to pick him up and get to at least the regional finals, where he made his return on Nov. 22 in a 41-6 win over Dalton.
It was the first time LaVerde had missed time since being named the starting quarterback prior to his freshman season, having started 38 games in a row.
“I’m having so much fun out there,” LaVerde said. “I just can’t take one single week for granted.”
Kirtland, which will play Coldwater for the Division VI state championship on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, became more consistent in handing the ball to senior running back Danny Alfieri with LaVerde out. The 6-foot, 205-pound running back is in his first season playing offense for the Hornets after focusing on defense in his prior seasons.
Alfieri has more than been up for the challenge, rushing for 1,579 yards and a school-record 36 touchdowns, including 149 yards and a pair of scores against Northmor.
“You have to look at the benefits of me getting hurt,” LaVerde said. “Danny and John Silvestro really took that role of running the ball, and they went crazy with it. Danny just broke the school record for single-season rushing yards. They’ve been doing great. So developing those guys throughout the year, because this is the first year Dan played offense, it’s awesome. Just helps our offense as a whole, appreciate him after graduation.”
Alfieri, who was dealing with a hamstring injury early in the season, played in four of the first five games and carried the ball an average of 10.5 times per game for 67 yards. The number of carries is slightly skewed, however, because he had 24 touches against Perry in Week 3 and then had just two and six carries in the next two games against Independence and Cuyahoga Heights, respectively.
But in the seven games LaVerde missed, Alfieri played in six of them, carrying the ball an average of 12.3 times per game for 131.5 yards per contest, never getting fewer than 12 carries or more than 17 in a single game.
“I was still recovering from (the hamstring injury), early in the season,” Alfieri said. “But I would say it helped me a little bit because I got more carries and more experience because I didn’t run the ball last year.”
Before being injured on Sept. 27, LaVerde had 91 yards rushing and a touchdown in the game and had been averaging 188.8 yards on the ground with seven touchdowns, including a season-opening performance of 341 yards and three scores against Dalton and had completed 16 of 24 passes for 277 yards and 10 touchdowns.
In his return in the regional final rematch against Dalton, LaVerde eased back into the offense with 46 yards rushing on five carries and threw the ball just one time, partly because the Hornets didn’t need to throw the ball and partly because the elements didn’t allow much through the air.
LaVerde, who was named second-team All-Ohio last season in Division VI, ran the ball 16 times for 146 yards and three touchdowns against Northmor before being replaced in the fourth quarter by Max Paul, who went 7-0 and threw for 476 yards and three scores with LaVerde injured.
LaVerde also didn’t throw the ball a single time against Northmor. Kirtland ran 60 plays – all runs.
“That’s what I like about our offense,” LaVerde said. “Late November, December, in these late playoff games, when it gets cold and snowy and rainy, these passing teams, they can’t pass the ball, and that’s why we win, we run the ball.”
While LaVerde is back on the field, he still can’t do everything he would like to do, mostly because he still has a partial cast on his left arm that restricts him.
“It’s been very difficult not being able to use this arm,” LaVerde said. “You can’t switch the ball. I would always switch the ball and stiff arm with my jukes. You don’t realize it until you can only run the ball with one arm. It’s hard to hold onto the ball, but every game, I’m getting more used to it. Just got to get back into it. I’m just going to do whatever I can for this team.”
One example of LaVerde not being able to use his off arm to get away from defenders happened midway through the second quarter against Northmor when he took off running and instead of stiff-arming an opponent who was going down, he hurdled the defender on his way to the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown.
“I just try to do whatever I can,” LaVerde said. “And that’s what it was in that moment.”
While Jake LaVerde was recovering from his injury, the one person who saw him on the field and at home was Kirtland head coach and Jake’s father, Tiger LaVerde, putting the elder LaVerde in a unique situation. On one hand, he is the coach of the team. On the other hand, he is also the father of the injured player.
Tiger has coached all four of his kids at one point or another in high school – son Phillip in football and lacrosse and daughters Leah and Sophia in flag football – but this is the first time he has had to deal with an injury to one of his own while coaching them.
“It wasn’t fun,” said Tiger LaVerde, who now boasts a record of 243-20 in his 20 years at the helm of the Hornets. “He was miserable. I felt bad for him, because I know much he loves this game and he loves his teammates. It’s hard when you see somebody who loves it that much, and you see the sadness in their eyes. Today, I’m glad he’s back. I can see the spark in his eyes again. He’s happy at home. He’s excited.”