Avon, Ohio- It finally arrived. After 309 excruciatingly painful days, it finally arrived. The Avon Eagles’ much anticipated matchup with arch rival Avon Lake was finally here.
The sting of the 27-26 heartbreaking loss to the Shoremen in last year’s Division II playoffs still fresh on their minds, the Eagles exerted a measure of revenge Friday evening with resounding 31-6 victory over Avon Lake
Led by QB Ryan Maloy and a bruising run game led by So. RB Nick Perusek, Avon let the capacity home crowd and the Shoremen know that this indeed was the night they were waiting for.
Avon wasted no time after forcing a 3 and out on Avon Lake’s first drive. A quick 4 play 30 yard drive ended with Tony Eberhardt’s 8 yard run to put the Eagles on top 7-0.
The Shoremen came right back however and led by the quick passing of QB Jack Mikolich and some timely run plays, they marched 82 yards in 10 plays capped off by a 10 yard run by Mikolich.
No one at Joe Firment Stadium would even imagine that would be the highlight of Avon Lake’s night. The first quarter ended 7-6 Avon.
The Eagles would not let up. On the ensuing possession, Avon drove 63 yards on 12 plays, scoring on a 4 yard run by Jr RB Mark Steinmetz making the score 14-6 and for all intents and purposes the rout was on.
After forcing another 3 and out, Avon drove another 93 yards ending in a 19 yard TD pass from Maloy to WR Kyle Kudla to give the Eagles a 21-6 lead. Avon added a 35 yard FG from David Orlando and a 15 yard TD from Orlando to take a 31-6 lead into the locker room.
The Silver Rail Trophy had been claimed. Avon was completely and thoroughly dominant on both sides of the ball, wearing down the Shoremen front line and clicking on all cylinders.
Avon’s only scoring threat in the second half was their first possession as they marched to the Avon Lake 10 but a FG attempt was blocked. The Eagles took 8 minutes off the clock and the outcome was well in hand.
Maloy finished the night 10-13, 106 yards, 1TD, 1 INT, 35 rushing yards on 9 carries. It was the Nick Perusek show in the second half as Avon ground the clock rushing 15 times for 88 yards.
The lone bright spot for Avon Lake was the running of Jr. Konner Riggs who battled his way to 89 tough yards on 17 carries.
The Eagles will have to move forward without the services of their All State WR and Division 1 recruit, Vlasi Pappas, who suffered a season ending knee injury in last week’s win over Olmsted Falls.
If tonight was any indication, even without Vlasi, all is well. The 309 day wait was well worth it.
Avon, 3-0 (2-0 in SWC) travel to North Olmsted next Friday September 15, while the Shoremen try and regroup and welcome the Westlake Demons next week.
Scoring Summary:
A- Eberhardt 7 run XP good
AL- Mikolich 10 run XP no good
A- Steinmetz 4 run XP good
A- Kudla 19 pass from Maloy XP good
A- Orlando 35 FG
A- Orlando 15 run XP good
Avon- 7-24-0-0
Avon Lake 6-0-0-0
This game recap is brought to you by Crystalina’s Pizzeria. Visit them at 36962 Detroit Rd, Avon, Ohio or www.crystalinaspizzeria.com or call 440-934-1011. #thechoiceisCrystalclear
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