Football Game Preview: Kirtland Hornets vs. Garaway Pirates

The Kirtland Hornets will challenge the Garaway Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Kirtland sitting on 12 straight wins and Garaway on five.

Kirtland is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They took their game with ease, bagging a 35-7 victory over Smithville. Fans of the Hornets have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.

John Silvestro

Rushing Yards

11/14/25 vs Smithville	147
11/07/25 vs Wickliffe	172
10/24/25 @ Rootstown	170
10/17/25 vs Crestwood	120
10/10/25 @ Chagrin Falls	105
+ 2 more games

John Silvestro had another great game (as he tends to do), rushing for 147 yards and one TD while picking up 7.7 yards per carry. His rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his seventh straight game with at least 105 rushing yards. Another rusher making a difference was Ty Bledsoe, who rushed for 72 yards and a pair of scores.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Kirtland was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 283 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.

Meanwhile, Garaway was able to grind out a solid win over Dalton on Friday, taking the game 25-16.

Kirtland better keep an eye on Micah Yoder. He was instrumental in Garaway's win, picking up 135 receiving yards and one touchdown. Those 135 receiving yards gave Yoder a new career-high.

Kirtland's victory bumped their record up to 12-0. As for Garaway, their win bumped their record up to 9-2.

Kirtland strolled past Garaway in their previous meeting back in November of 2023 by a score of 17-0. Do the Hornets have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Pirates turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.