H.S. Football: Vermilion rebounds with rout

VERMILON — The Sailors bounced back in a big way. Vermilion rolled to a 44-6 victory Friday night against Sandusky on Senior Night. The Sailors avenged their only loss of the season, 17-0 last week at Elyria Catholic. The win is just the second all time against Sandusky in 15 tries. The other victory was 33 years ago when coach Bill DiFucci was suiting up for Vermilion. "This is huge for the program, " DiFucci said. "We talked about coming into this game being 1-13 and the last time we beat them was my senior year in 1992. This was a huge step for the program, continuing from last year and checking another box." Senior tailback Evan Kuhns rumbled for 198 yards and three touchdowns on just 13 carries. Lining up at fullback, Kuhns took a quick-hitting dive on Vermilion's first possession 50 yards for a score at the 7:56 mark of the first quarter. After Dante Shipp Jr. fielded a punt inside his 5-yard line and got buried at the 1, the Sailors defense got a three-and-out and created great field position at the Sandusky 32-yard line. Kuhns took a sweep around the right side for a 25-yard touchdown, receiving a great block by Issac Kyser to spring the run. After another three-and-out by the Blue Streaks, Vermilion used more running by Kuhns and Kyser to set up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by quarterback Drake Hooks to take a 23-0 lead at the 7:34 mark of the second quarter. A promising drive by Sandusky ended in a Kuhns interception on fourth-and-6 from the Vermilion 13-yard line. Vermilion executed a 24-yard jet sweep touchdown by Chase Jackson and the rout, and running clock, was on at halftime. "We preached all week after last week's game and we came back and we really wanted to clean up who we were and really put a stamp back on what we do here and the boys were very receptive," DiFucci said. "I'm extremely proud of their preparation all week and their response to adversity. They had a chance to get back in the lab, get back on the practice field and make corrections and they did a fantastic job responding." Kuhns had a 37-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and freshman Landon Mooney ran in from 5 yards in the closing minutes to close out the scoring. The Vermilion defense held up well against a Sandusky team with explosive athletes and a strong-armed quarterback in senior Dale Johnson. The Vermilion defense had three interceptions, with two by Kuhns. Vermilion won the field position battle thanks to sound special teams, and scored twice on 2-point conversions from a muddle huddle formation. "All three phases tonight were clicking," DiFucci said. "The offense did what they did, the defense played fantastic. Our special teams, our punt team, everybody, they all contributed to what we did. It was a complete team win tonight." Vermilion heads to Norwalk in Week 6 to take on the Truckers in Sandusky Bay Conference play.