Berkshire hasn't had much luck against Kirtland recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Badgers will take on the Hornets at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Berkshire's offense will try to repeat the strong performance it gave on Friday, when they got past Rootstown's usually-dominant defense. The Badgers claimed a resounding 43-16 win over the Rovers. The Badgers pushed the score to 43-13 by the end of the third, a deficit the Rovers cut but never quite recovered from.
Sam Barcikoski had another great game (as he tends to do), rushing for 84 yards and three touchdowns on only ten carries, while also throwing for 133 yards and one TD while completing 81.8% of his passes. His longest rush was for an impressive 67 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Oliver Miller was in the mix as well, providing Berkshire with two scores.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Berkshire's defense and their three sacks. Nathan Fultz was especially locked on to Rootstown's QB and sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter and that's exactly how it played out for Kirtland on Friday. They never let Wickliffe get on the board and left with a 42-0 victory. The win was just business as usual for the Hornets, who after six games remain undefeated this season.
Berkshire better keep an eye on John Silvestro. He was instrumental in Kirtland's win, rushing for 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 14 carries, while also picking up 51 receiving yards and one TD. Silvestro has been hot recently, having also posted two or more rushing touchdowns the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Jake Laverde, who threw for 149 yards and a pair of TDs while completing 77.8% of his passes.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Kirtland was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 228 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 178 rushing yards every time they've taken the field this season.
The victory got Berkshire back to even at 3-3. As for Kirtland, their record now sits at 6-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Berkshire has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 165.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Kirtland struggles in that department as they've been averaging 322.2 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Berkshire was taken down by Kirtland 46-11 when the teams last played back in October of 2024. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Badgers were down 46-0.
