Kuhns' 4 TDs lead Vermilion past Willard

WILLARD — Evan Kuhns may have been on his way to another 400-yard rushing night. The Vermilion senior racked up 12 carries for 181 yards and four touchdowns in the first half Saturday. But with the Sailors in firm control, Kuhns enjoyed the second half from the sidelines. Vermilion faced little to no resistance from Willard, beating the Crimson Flashes 60-22 in a SBC crossover. "Our line did an absolutely amazing job," Kuhns said. "I owe it all to them. The holes were wide as can be. It was easy to run through them." After sitting out Week 1 against Margaretta due to a nagging injury, Kuhns rushed for a school-record 412 yards in the Sailors' Week 2 win over Firelands. Kuhns scored on touchdown runs of 47, 3, 45 and 27 yards in the first half Saturday as Vermilion (3-0) led 48-14 at the break. "He's already racking up yards and touchdowns," Vermilion coach Bill DiFucci said. "That's the kind of player he is. He's also very humble. We talk about this. He loves to give credit to the O-line. He really works hard and he's a great kid." The Sailors scored 60 points for the first time since a 60-0 win over Firelands on Oct. 27, 2006. "We knew they were going to spread it out and run the football a lot and the game would slow down a little bit," DiFucci said. "The backs were hitting the gaps and running hard. The line did a fantastic job again for us." A quick start for Vermilion helped propel the Sailors. After Micah Smith returned the opening kickoff past midfield, it took just two plays for Kuhns to explode for a 47-yard touchdown. Zack Werth added a two-point conversion run and Vermilion was up 8-0 just 54 seconds in. On the first possession for Willard (2-1), the Crimson Flashes looked to be in position for a first down on a pass from Jake Rothhaar to Chase Manlet. But, the ball was fumbled and Smith scooped it and returned it 30 yards for the touchdown. The extra point from Smith gave Vermilion a 15-0 lead just over two minutes in. "Certainly you want to come out of the gate with an explosive start," DiFucci said. "The offense did a fantastic job and then we had a short field. We punched it right back in and kept with that hungry mentality." Willard fumbled on its next possession with Chase Jackson recovering the loose ball for Vermilion. The Sailors couldn't do anything with it and punted. Vermilion then forced a turnover on downs by the Crimson Flashes' offense. This time, Vermilion went 51 yards in six plays, capped by Kuhns' 3-yard rumble. "It felt like we had a good game plan defensively, but then we had guys not executing assignments," Willard coach Bill Speller said. "We had so many missed tackles. We had guys in the right places at times and let them run right by us. That's a frustrating effort, especially when you have a kid like (Kuhns)." From there, Willard got its passing game going. After a false start, Rothhaar connected with Paxton Flores, who broke a few tackles and navigated his way through the defense and scampered to the end zone for a 78-yard score. Vermilion responded with a 52-yard rushing touchdown by Werth, but Willard kept pace. The Crimson Flashes covered 77 yards in 10 plays. Rothhaar picked up 20 yards on a fourth-down play then scored from a yard out. The 2-point run failed, but Willard was within 27-14. Vermilion dominated the rest of the first half. Kuhns had a 16-yard pickup before exploding through the defense for a 45-yard touchdown. Willard turned the ball over on downs on its next drive which led to Kuhns' fourth score of the half. He scored on a 21-yard run and Smith's extra point made it 41-14. The Sailors put the game into running clock mode after forcing a three-and-out defensively. Kuhns had another 16-yard run before Drake Hooks went over the top for a 60-yard strike to Brock Meyers. Smith made it 48-14 with the extra point. The Sailors finished with 357 yards rushing on 27 carries. That helped their defense play well against a high-powered Willard offense. "It was the turnovers for them that really stopped their drives and stalled them out," DiFucci said. "We were an opportunistic defense." Vermilion 21 27 6 8 — 60Willard 8 6 0 8 — 22 V — Evan Kuhns 47 run (Zack Werth run)V — Micah Smith 30 fumble return (Smith kick)V — Kuhns 3 run (pass failed)W — Paxton Flores 78 pass from Jake Rothhaar (Flores pass from Rothhaar)V — Werth 52 run (kick blocked)W — Rothhaar 1 run (run failed)V — Kuhns 45 run (Smith kick)V — Kuhns 27 run (Smith kick)V — Brock Meyers 60 pass from Drake Hooks (Smith kick)V — Isaac Kyser 14 run (kick failed)V — Landon Mooney 5 run (kick failed)W — Rothhaar 29 run (Chase Manlet pass from Rothhaar)