by AVON, OH – Avon used a stingy defense and excellent special teams to capture a thrilling and wet, 13-12 victory over two-time defending Div IV State Champion Glenville this evening at home. Owen Warrick hit two big field goals and Cole Kepner made an amazing catch to bring Avon the victory.
The Glenville defense held Eagles quarterback Nolan Good to just 120 yards on 11 of 24 passing with two interceptions and no touchdowns. The lone Avon touchdown came on a Tyler Kaufman first quarter run. Kaufman finished with 21 yards on 10 runs. The always steady Matt Maxey caught 5 balls for 33 yards while Cole Kepner had one huge catch for 42 yards that set up the winning field goal.
For the Glenville Tarblooders, they had a mixed bag of weapons as their starting quarterback ran for 25 yards on 3 carries before getting knocked out of the game. Backup quarterback LaMarques Greenwood checked in and ran for 58 yards with a score. Their main producer was Chris Newell Jr who ran for 107 yards and a score on 17 carries
The first Glenville play from scrimmage following an Avon punt, was a disaster as it was a fumble which the Avon defense recovered and advanced to the Glenville 3-yard line. One play later, the Eagles made it count when Tyler Kaufman scampered in for a touchdown less then 90 seconds into the game.
The second Eagle drive started near midfield following a Glenville three and out. They faced a fourth and 2 from the 14 when they elected to try a 41-yard Owen Warrick field goal. It was long and true to push the Eagle lead to 10-0 with 4:42 to go in the opening quarter.
The third Glenville drive started off well enough with a few first downs until Tyler Kaufman picked off a pass and took it all the way back to the Glenville 34-yard line. It wouldn’t matter long however as Glenville picked off Nolan Good on his next pass, giving the ball right back to them. That was a total of 3 turnovers in the first quarter.
The Tarblooders cashed it in with a 68-yard Newell Jr touchdown run. He caught a block on the outside and just floored it from there. This big play made it 10-6 with 1:10 to play in the first. The quarter ended by that same score, 10-6 Avon after one.
Nolan Good threw his 5th interception of the year shortly after, and the Tarblooders took over at the Eagle 38-yard line. Glenville then road the legs of Newell Jr for some more crucial yardage. They faced a fourth and long and converted a 15-yard rush by Nelson to keep the drive going. A few plays later, they faced another fourth and long, this time from the 15.
Yet again, it was a QB scamper to get it done, however this time it was the backup 10th grade quarterback Greenwood escaping the pocket and taking it all the way to score. It was an amazing play that led to the 15-yard touchdown run. The extra point failed again, and it was now 12-10 Glenville as they scored touchdown off both Good interceptions. The game went to half by that same score of 12-10 Glenville.
Good landed a 42-yard dart to speed demon Cole Kepner early into the third quarter. This took the ball inside the Glenville 10-yard line. Kepner is a speedster and complete game changer when called upon. The Eagles couldn’t move it much from there and faced a fourth and goal from the 4, moments later. Down 12-10, would they try the Warrick Field Goal? They did, and Warrick nailed the 22-yard field to give the Eagles back the lead at 13-12, again, it was the catch by Kepner that set them up. The third quarter ended by that same score.
The Avon Player of the game is Owen Warrick with two clutch fields goals and an extra point that proved to be the difference.
The Glenville Player of the game is Chris Newell Jr who ran for 107 yards and a score on 17 carries
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