Lake County Sentinel
Blue Streaks bombed by Kenston 34-8
BY KEN KRIZNER
STAFF
(CHAGRIN FALLS, OH) - Kenston Head Coach Jeff Grubich preaches to his team the necessity of getting off to a fast start. That’s exactly what the Bombers did Friday night in an OHSAA Division III, Region 9 playoff matchup against Madison.
Junior Will Hamm took the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown, then scored a second touchdown less than two minutes later after a partially blocked punt as the Bombers raced to a 14-point lead enroute to a 34-8 victory over the Blue Streaks at Kenston Bomber Stadium.
“I think that is the definition of a fast start,” Grubich said.
The Bombers delivered big play after big play – offensively, defensively and on special teams – throughout the first half, completely overwhelming Madison for their seventh playoff victory this decade and setting up a date at top-seeded Canfield next Friday night.
Special teams helped lead the way as the Bombers raced out to a 31-0 halftime lead.
“To come out and return the opening kick for a touchdown, you can’t ask for a better start,” said Grubich, who became Kenston’s all-time winningest coach with the win. “But we kept the pressure on as well with the blocked punt. We emphasize special teams all year long and to win in the playoffs, you have to win all three phases of the game. Our special teams helped us tremendously.”
The fast start for Kenston put Madison in an early hole it could not escape.
“You can’t give a playoff team 14 points right off the bat,” said Madison Head Coach Mike Gilligan. “It was a rough, unsettling start that put us in a tough position.”
Despite the early hole, Gilligan said he still intended to execute the Madison game plan of mixing the run with the passing of senior quarterback Will Randall. But Kenston’s defense stopped the run effectively, and Randall, who had more than 1,700 yards passing and 18 touchdown passes this season, had difficulty connecting downfield with his receivers.
Madison did nothing in the first quarter, failing to complete a pass or pick up a first down.
Big plays continued for Kenston. After a third Madison punt put Kenston back at its own 6 yard line, senior quarterback Jack Bryner hit sophomore wide receiver Kahlil Hinton on a 39-yard pass. Bryner did it with his feet as well on the drive, picking up a first down on a third-down run and later scampering for 19 yards. He went back to the air for 23 yards to freshman Gianni Tomaselli putting the ball at the Madison 6 yard line. Two plays later, Hamm had his third touchdown of the first quarter from 1 yard out.
And Hamm contributed on defense as well, recovering a Madison fumble at the Blue Streaks’ 6 yard line as the first quarter was ending. This time, the Bombers were only able to cash in on a 28-yard field goal by senior Grady Kucharson.
Although the Blue Streaks did pick up their first two first downs and Randall completed his first passes on their first possession of the second quarter, the drive stalled. Madison was forced to punt and the Bombers took over at their own 11 yard line.
Working methodically down the field, Kenston went 89 yards with Bryner hitting Hinton for 39 yards on a fourth down play to keep the drive alive. Once again, it was Hamm going in from 3 yards out for his fourth touchdown of the first half.
If one play exemplified Madison’s night, it came with about 1 minute to go in the second quarter. Randall hit senior DJ Parsons on a picture-perfect over-the-shoulder throw for 49 yards. But Parsons was ruled to have gone out of bounce before touching the ball, which nullified the catch and resulted in a penalty.
With a 31-point Kenston lead, the second half began with a running clock. Two personal foul penalties on Madison, including one on a fourth down play, helped set up the final Kenston score of the night, a 35-yard field goal by Kucharson.
Madison avoided the shutout with less than 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter when senior Payton Birman took it in from 9 yards out. It was only fitting that Birman scored the touchdown, because he picked up 48 yards on the ground during the drive. Randall contributed by hitting junior Mason Nusker for 13 yards on a third down play. Randall then hit senior Patrick Clark for the two-point conversion.
Madison, which qualified for the playoffs for a third consecutive season, finishes 7-4. Gilligan said the Blue Streaks overcame a number of injuries and still continued to develop and get better as the season progressed.
Despite graduating a number of seniors, he said is optimistic that 2026 will be a successful season for the Blue Streaks.
“We’ll be young next year, but we have a good solid group of kids,” Gilligan said. “We are looking forward to being very competitive next season.”.
POSTED 11/01/2025 00:56
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Madison quarterback Will Randall completes a pass in the Blue Streaks 34-8 first round playoff loss to the Kenston Bombers on Friday Night. . Photo by Ken Krizner
