CANTON, Ohio — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from a previously published story.
The Kirtland High School Hornets are looking to take their winning streak to another level at tonight's Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Football Playoffs.
The football team, which holds the longest current executive winning streak in the United States, will face off against No. 8 Versailles Saturday night at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
Dave "Dino" DeNatale and Tyler Carey will have audio the call of tonight's game beginning at 7:20 p.m. on WKYC.com, the WKYC app, and the WKYC Facebook and YouTube pages. Video highlights will also be featured tonight at 11 on 3News' "What's Next."
55 wins could become 56 if the team pulls out a victory at the game. If Kirtland can dominate, the win would put them just three games away from claiming Ohio's record for most consecutive wins, set by Ironton between 1977-1983.
So what contributes to this team's streak? Coach Tiger Laverde talked with 3News' Nick Camino back in October about how they have managed to pull off the stream of wins.
"It means I’ve got a great coaching staff, a great school system with parents that allow their kids to be coached hard and to work hard and, that’s the real thing. What these kids do in the off-season, not everybody can do it, you know? We ask a lot of them, you know their parents let them work as hard as they can and I’m just real proud of them."
As for the team's seniors, they also have a lot riding on this game.
"Since my freshman year, we haven’t lost a game," said Kirtland High School football player Gage Sullivan. "Last time I remember our grade losing was beginning of the year, eighth grade, to Perry. And we just came out sluggish and then ever since then we’ve been full intensity, we haven’t come out sluggish and we’ve been more prepared than anything for every game.”
3News Digital Producer Dave "Dino" DeNatale will be live from the game tonight in Canton. You can listen to a live stream of the calls in the player at the top of this story, as well as on our WKYC Facebook and Youtube pages.
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