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Volume 11, No. 5
Friday, December 12, 2025
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CHRONICLE ONICLE ND KIR TLA
CHRONICLE ALAN KORNSPAN/KMG
John Silvestro runs away from the Hopewell-Loudon Chieftains in the OHSAA Div. VI state championship game, a 41-6 win. Silvestro finished the game with 255 yards on 19 carries and four touchdowns.
Undefeated! Unmatched! Hornets Win 8th State Title!
Dominant 41-6 Victory over Chieftains By Alan Kornspan sports@karlovecmedia.com After having won 14 straight games, the kirtland hornets faced the hopewell-loudon chieftains in the div. 6 ohsaa state championship game at tom benson hall of fame stadium in canton on dec. 6. The Hornets, no stranger to playing in state championship games, were playing for the OHSAA State Title for the ninth straight season. The Hornets started the championship game strong by getting out to an early 7-0 first quarter lead. They then scored a second quarter touchdown to go into halftime up 14-0. After intermission, the Hornets utilized their dominant offensive line and excellent ground game to outscore the Chieftains 27-6 in the second half as they claimed a 41-6 victory and the 2025 OHSAA Div. 6 State Championship. For the Hornets, this was their eighth OHSAA State Championship in program history, having won previous State Championships in 2011,
2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2023. To win the 2025 OHSAA Div. 6 State Championship, the Hornets used a tried and true familiar formula. They ran the ball! And then they ran the ball some more! With great offensive line play and excellent running from quarterback Jake LaVerde and running backs John Silvestro, Ty Bledsoe, and Sebastian Becker, the Hornets utilized their rushing attack to amazing precision. In fact, for the game, the Hornets accumulated 433 rushing yards on 45 carries for an average of 9.6 yards per carry. Afterwards, in the post-game press conference, Coach LaVerde provided insight into the success the Hornets are able to obtain year after year. Coach LaVerde expressed that he goes into every season wondering if the Hornets will have success. In addition, every year he believes they are going to have a hard time replacing the previous year's successful seniors. But then every sea-
son, the players work really hard and surprise him with the great success that they end up having. Comparing Coach LaVerde's approach to legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden's philosophy, it is easy to see the building blocks of the Pyramid of Success being utilized within the Hornets program. Clearly, the Hornets coaching staff implements the two most important components of the base of the Pyramid of Success, industriousness and enthusiasm. “Every year, these guys work hard, they care so much, they love each other, and they do what it takes,” Coach LaVerde said. “It's a gritty group of kids right here.” The Hornets showed their grit in the first half of the State Championship game by getting crucial stops when needed. “(The Chieftains) moved the ball, they leaned on us, they were big physical guys,” Coach LaVerde said. “We got stops when we needed to, we would bend a little bit, but we didn't break, (and) we didn't give up the home run over the top.” Going into the second half, Coach LaVerde said he was con-
cerned since the Hornets only had a 14 point lead and they had to kickoff to start the third quarter. He was worried that if the Chieftains scored on the first possession after intermission, that the Hornets would be in a tough 14-7 battle. But the defense got a stop and the ground game showed their dominance as the Hornets went up 21-0 in the third quarter. “We got a three and out and John (Silvestro) had another long run, and I think 21-0, kind of took the wind out of their sails,” Coach LaVerde said. To start the game, the Hornets got on the scoreboard with 7:37 left in the first quarter on Silvestro's 7 yard touchdown run. After Valentic converted the extra point, the Hornets led 7-0. The Hornets then added another touchdown run by Silvestro with 11:56 left in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead. Silvestro got his fourth touchdown of the game, a three yard touchdown run with 8:33 left in the third quarter as the Hornets took a 21-0 lead. With 20 seconds left in the See Championship• Page 3
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