by Avon is heading into tonight in an unfamiliar position, being 1-2 after a poor second half derailed them in Upper Arlington. Tonight, they came out of the nest and defeated the North Ridgeville Rangers 62-21 on Friday night at Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet Stadium.
The Eagles set the tone right from the start. On the second play of the entire game, Eagles defensive lineman Nolan Robke took a screen pass from Rangers quarterback Braden Harrison and took it to the end zone to start the night at 7-0.
The Rangers struggled to get any offense as the Eagles D-line dominated the trenches and made sure North Ridgeville was shaky offensively all night. A catch from Gus Dutta for the rangers gave them some breathing room, but it was not enough. The first Avon possession, the eagles were able to get many different backs and receivers the ball for effective gains. Catches from Jackson Palmer and running from Adrian Ramirez helped set up a Michael Colburn run from 12 yards out to push the score to 14-0.
Another dominant defensive possession from the Eagles with a sack to start the next Ranger drive helped set up the next offensive possession for Avon. Good runs from Ramirez and Colburn helped for another Colburn Touchdown to push the score to 21-0.
The Eagles made Harrison and running back James Rivera uncomfortable all night as with the Rangers next possession. A Mason Allison return for 83 yards set them up in the red zone. Eagles pressure from their d-line caused a big sack to the Eagles 30-yard line and caused a great red zone stand to keep the shutout intact.
Avon running backs were getting great runs all night as Jariel Fenton joined the party to start the next drive. Another couple of Ramirez runs and a catch from Palmer helped set up a touchdown connection for 46 yards from Avon quarterback Trevor Sykora to receiver Gavin Koehler for the 28-0 lead.
After another Ranger three and out, Avon punt returner Caeden Bennett returned a 62-yard punt for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 35-0 lead.
North Ridgeville finally had an answer on offense as new running back Riley Finnerty helped receiver Cole Allison get a big 36-yard gain. With some help from a couple of Avon defensive penalties, Harrison was able to find Jacob Stout for a jump ball that resulted in a touchdown to get the Rangers on the board 35-7.
Avon responded with some Jerdonek receptions and great rushing from the running backs and QB Sykora helped for a 19-yard reception for Jerdonek to get the score to 42-7.
The Rangers passing game finally got something going as Finnerty and Cole Allison helped set up a Mason Allison touchdown reception from 33 yards out to cut the deficit to 42-14.
Right before the half, Sykora ran for a 23-yard scamper after the kickoff. After a timeout, Colburn would find the hole and take the ball to the house for a 49-14 lead into the break.
With the running-clock going to start the second half, Rj Ross got some great gains on the ground, with the help of a Jerdonek 23-yard reception, he got Ross a 4-yard touchdown run to make the score 55-14 after a missed PAT.
The teams would trade three and outs before Avon Backups would get some yards off runs from Sebastian Vidolan and Griffin Schindley, and a 40-yard catch for Cooper Buescher helped for another Eagle touchdown run from Isaiah Bryant to make the score 62-14.
For the best play of the night, on third down, Rangers new quarterback Beckham Post scrambled away from the pressure and took a run for a 59-yard touchdown run, his first ever varsity touchdown to cut the lead to 62-21. Avon would run out the clock for a big win to start conference play.
Avon will travel to Olmsted Falls and North Ridgeville will host Elyria for their week five SWC conference games.
Players of the Game:
North Ridgeville: Cole Allison- 5 catches for 72 yards; constantly got open all night to make big plays to help the rangers score.
Avon: Michael Colburn- 113 yards rushing with two touchdowns, Eagles were able to keep him fresh so that he could make the Rangers pay every time he touched the ball.
