by Two great schools with a rich history of success driven by excellent coaching, and even better culture. Fewer words can spark more interest and excitement then Hoban vs Avon in the State Final Four and here we are again, 2023 edition! Before we can take a look ahead, let’s take one last look back at what should surely be, yet another classic between the two!
When you’re the Archbishop Hoban Knights, you become so good that you start to develop rivals everywhere. Another one that has formed in recent years is with the Avon Eagles out of the SWC. While Avon will tell you that their number-one focus is the game ahead of them as well as the Avon Lake Shoremen, these feuds with the Knights of Hoban have really heated up over the years.
It all started in 2017, when the Avon Eagles began their stretch of five straight trips to the state final four. In four of the last five years, that game has taken place against the Archbishop Hoban Knights out of Akron. Each one has been closer than the last and has featured some of the greatest players in OHSAA history.
The 2017 OHSAA playoffs state semifinals took place on November 27, 2017, from a frozen Brunswick Auto Mart Stadium. All eyes were on Brunswick as an epic clash between Avon and Archbishop Hoban took place for a ticket to the state championship game in Division 2. Both teams played hard, and in the end, it was Hoban handing Avon their first loss all year with a 30–6 victory.
The Hoban Knights powered their way to the victory with a relentless stampede of rushing the ball down the gut of Avon. After a tight first half in which Avon did a great job of clock control, yet still trailing, 10–6, at the break, Hoban pulled away in the second half.
Freshman Hoban quarterback Shane Hamm didn’t do much in the air, but he didn’t need to, as his legs were more than enough. The freshman quarterback rushed for 47 yards on 7 carries, scoring 1 touchdown.
Sophomore running back Deamonte Trayanum racked up 126 yards on 8 touches, also scoring twice.
Making his stats even more impressive for Trayanum is the fact that he didn’t touch the ball until the second half. He was also a force on defense, with a sack and an interception. Starting tailback Tyris Dickerson chipped in with 110 yards on 15 carries. He did not score. Avon simply had no answers for the relentless rushing attack of Hoban.
The Hoban defense was every bit as impressive, forcing Ryan Maloy into multiple interceptions and sacking him 7 times. It was clear the Eagles attack was running a little flat without Tony Ebhardt working at full speed. It was his first game back in several weeks after dealing with illness.
Avon converted a third and 14 for 24 yards on the opening drive. The team was then handed a 15-yard personal-foul call on Hoban tacked on to the end of the play on a late hit. Avon would convert their next third down with Nick Perusek on a third on 5. Perusek was only a sophomore, so it was a rare carry for the young back in such a crucial situation. However, it was then that Avon committed mistakes, as back-to-back penalties set up a second down and 35 from the Hoban 44.
A Ryan Maloy pass was intercepted by Hoban defender Garrett Houser, who took it all the way back to the Avon 20-yard line after about an 85-yard return on the Maloy overthrown pass that stalled the drive. The Eagles defense forced the Hoban offense to a three and out. Hoban then converted a 35-yard field goal, as kicker Jacob Branham bounced it in off the post. The Knights had that kind of luck in the first half.
The ensuing kickoff saw yet another personal foul on Hoban, the second in the first seven minutes of the game. Ryan Maloy and the Eagles took advantage of the mental mistake and began another impressive drive. On the legs of Maloy, Avon drove the ball down to the 20 of Hoban territory again.
Avon went for it on fourth and 1 from the Hoban 12-yard line with 1:38 left on the clock. Hoban once again helped them out by jumping offsides to hand Avon the first down. It would pay off two plays later, as Maloy took it in himself from 7 yards out. The extra point was blocked, and it was 6–3, Eagles, with forty-five seconds left in the first quarter. It would be the last lead they held and the last points they scored.
Avon continued to make costly mistakes. After forcing a Hoban punt early in the second quarter, the Eagles fumbled the punt and gave the ball right back to the Knights, this time on the 22-yard line of Avon. The Archbishop Hoban Knights wasted no time cashing in, as quarterback Shane Hamm ran it in from 4 yards out a few minutes later, putting the Knights up, 10–6. Hoban was hit with their third personal foul of the game on the play after the touchdown.
From there, the Eagles strung together yet another double-digit play in a six-plus-minute-long drive to close out the first half. They advanced the ball to the Hoban 18-yard line when fourth and 8 approached. They opted against the field goal and decided to go for it. The Mike Elder gamble came up craps, as Ryan Maloy was rushed out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Knights with 58 seconds left in the half.
A strange first half muddled with penalties and turnovers saw Hoban run less than twenty plays and throw only 2 passes, and yet, they lead Avon, 10–6, at the half. Avon ran a ball-control offense and soaked up a lot of clock, but a blocked extra point, a turnover on downs and a red zone interception hurt them. Avon even outgained Hoban, 155 to 55 yards in the half, but it simply didn’t matter.
Hoban started the second half with the ball and wasted no time cashing in. Hamm capped off the drive with a dashing 7-yard rumble to extend the lead. Avon was forced to punt and quickly gave the ball back to Hoban.
Once again, the powerful Knight offensive attack had no issues marching the ball down the field and scoring. This time, it was sensational sophomore Deamonte Trayanum sprinting in from 16 yards out. The extra point was blocked, but the damage was done. Hoban now led, 23–6. Despite 5 personal fouls, the Knights were dominating. Trayanum put one more in before the night was over.
Hoban advanced to the Division 2 state championship game the next weekend from Tom Benson Stadium in Canton. They defeated Winton Woods out of Cincinnati, 42–14, for their third straight state championship and their first in Division 2.
Avon didn’t have to wait long to get a rematch, as the two went at it again in the 2018 OHSAA playoffs state final four on November 23, 2018. The Eagles were one year more seasoned and ready to go, but it wouldn’t matter. The Archbishop Hoban Knights returned to the Division 2 championship game by defeating a talented but overmatched Avon Eagles team, 42–7, for their 28th straight victory.
They used a combination of smothering defense alongside a high-octane running game to overpower the Eagles all night, once again from a frozen Brunswick Auto Mart Stadium. The Knights went on to play the Massilon Tigers in what was one of the greatest high school football games in the history of the OHSAA.
All season long, the Knights used a powerful running attack and well-balanced defensive style to outmatch any team they faced. That night, was no different, as it was Tyris Dickerson rushing for 174 yards on 12 carries and scoring 2 touchdowns to catapult the Knights back into the championship game.
His running mate in the backfield, Deamonte Trayanum, was every bit as good, going for 104 yards on just 6 rushes and also scoring 2 touchdowns. Trayanum also leveled countless huge hits on the defensive side of the ball. The junior was being scouted by almost every major division 1 college out there, and for good reason.
In the second half, the Knights needed only 8 total plays from scrimmage to put up 21 points. To get a game to a running clock in a state semifinal is nearly unheard of. They were that efficient and that good.
The Knights started the game from their own 25-yard line and wasted no time marching down the field to score. A seven-play, 75-yard drive was capped off by a 43-yard burst by Eastern Kentucky commit Tyris Dickerson to open the scoring. It was a two-minute, fifty-six-second masterpiece by the Knights. They had two key third-down conversion pass completions of 10 yards each from Shane Hamn to Mason Tipton.
After forcing an Eagle punt, the Knights went right back to work. This time, a huge 39-yard pitch and catch from Hamm to Tipton moved the ball deep into Eagle territory.
Moments later, it was Deamonte Trayanum rumbling in from 9 yards out to score. It was his 24th touchdown of the season on the ground, and it capped a five-play, 80-yard drive to increase the lead to 14–0.
The score would remain that way after one quarter of play was concluded. For the season through 14 games, they had outscored their opponents by 162 points in the first quarter. They were that strong, that fast, that extremely good.
Shane Hamm kept the ball rolling along the next time the Knights touched the ball with another impressive drive. Hamm did it all with his arms and feet as they had no issues piling up the yardage.
Hamm busted out runs of 9 and 12 yards on the drive, before pounding it in from 2 yards out. For Hamm, that was his 9th rushing touchdown of the season. The drive was a swift 6 plays in a little over 2 minutes. Hamm also hit Tipton for a 19-yard strike on that drive as well, to improve the score to 21-0.
The Knights would take a commanding 21-0 lead into the break. For the season, in 14 games, they only allowed a total of 94 first half points. An incredible average of 6.7 points allowed per game, in the opening half.
The Avon Eagles opened up the second half with the ball and looking to get back into it. It was a seven-minute drive covering over 70 yards.
A beautiful scramble by Ryan Maloy to get out of the pocket led to him finding a wide-open Ryan Jones in the back of the endzone for a 24-yard touchdown pass to get the Eagles on the board. Maloy hit Jones earlier on the drive for a 16-yard strike as well.
The Knights wasted no time responding with a 50-yard bomb from Hamm to tight end Caden Clark to start the drive. That was helped by a 15-yard personal foul to follow. Two plays later the drive was capped off by a leaping 18-yard touchdown catch by fullback Matt Blanchard. All in all, three plays, one minute four seconds, total domination to extend the lead to 28-7.
Down by 3 scores with the clock doing them no favors, the Eagles refused to give up and began to mount another drive. The entered deep into Knight territory as the game moved into the fourth quarter. A 10-play drive saw them advance to the Knight 14-yard line. It would fizzle out however as Devin Hightower picked off Maloy in the back of the endzone, effectively ending any doubt.
The Knights decided to put their own exclamation mark on the game when Tyris Dickerson took the next play 85 yards to the house. Ending any and all question as to just how dominant this team truly was. Like there was ever any to begin with?
At 35-7, fans and family headed for the exits. Those fans and family would miss another Trayanum touchdown strike, as he sped in from 78 yards a few minutes later to cap the scoring at 42-7.
Shane Hamm finished 7 of 7, for 147 yards with a touchdown. Hamm would also run for 33 yards and a touchdown as well. Hamm was the steady force that kept the Eagles defense guessing, allowing huge holes to develop for his two star running backs. Hoban would go on to win the greatest State Championship game in OHSAA history over Massillon as chronicled earlier.
The two schools managed to avoid each in 2019 as it was Massillon knocking off Hoban to collide with Avon in the Final Four. Sadly, for Avon, the result was the same as Massillon could not be stopped. But now, they got their chance to rematch Hoban once again with perhaps the greatest talent Avon has ever had. They had the momentum too, coming off a thrilling last second win over their rivals the Avon Lake Shoreman a week before.
(SPEAKING OF WHICH, THAT RIVALRY IS COVERED IN THE BOOK AS WELL)
Down big early, Avon stormed back in the second half at a frosty Byers Field in November 2020. A 64-yard Kharion Davis pick six ended the dramatic Avon rally, and gave the Knights of Hoban a 28-14 victory.
The Hoban Knights used an 80-yard, 7 minute drive over 13 plays to start the scoring on their opening drive of the game. This was after a 5 plus minute drive came up empty on the Nathan Vakos 42-yard field goal that sailed wide right.
The Knights touchdown came on a 11-yard Victor Dawson touchdown run. Dawson had a big night with 17 carries for 110 yards and 2 big touchdowns. It was the Knights cashing in again with a stellar two-minute drive that started on their own 36 with only a minute and change to go to end the first half.
They got the ball back after an Avon Eagle drive went 4 and out on 4 straight incomplete passes after a shanked punt gave the Eagles great field position. The Knights finished it off with a 19-yard passing strike from Shane Hamm to Brayden Fox with 11 seconds to go in the half.
Fox had a big game with 5 catches for 85 yards and 1 touchdown. Hamm went 13 of 21 for 191 yards and that touchdown. His other big targets were Kharion Davis, who had 3 catches for 35 yards, and Shawn Parnell, who had 3 catches for 32 yards.
Being down is nothing new to the Avon Eagles. They don’t blink in the face of adversity, and this evening was no different. After the opening second-half Hoban drive stalled because of penalties, the Eagles took over near midfield and began their comeback attempt. It was a rough night for Hoban, penalty-wise, as they chalked up 133 yards on 15 costly penalties.
The Eagles scored on an 8-yard pass from Niko Pappas to the suddenly red-hot Timmy Conwell. Pappas rebounded from a slow first half to have a strong second half. Pappas finished with 144 yards on 14 of 26 passing with 1 touchdown and 2 picks late. Conwell finished the season strong with a 7-catch, 66-yard night.
Pappas did his best work with his feet, as he had all season. Pappas used big runs of 29 and 23 yards on back-to-back drives in the second half to get the Eagle offense cooking. The second drive resulted in a touchdown for the Eagles to tie the game.
A 16-yard pass to Mike Ptacek put them on the 2-yard line for first and goal. They rushed to the line, then Pappas lunged forward, breaking the plane to tie the game at 14 with 9:34 to go.
The Archbishop Knights aren’t one of the top teams in the state year in and year out for no reason, and on this night they showed why. They calmly responded with one big play after another to retake the lead on a three-minute drive capped by a powerful 3-yard touchdown run by Dawson to reclaim the lead, 21–14, with 6:37 to go. The defense would seal the deal from there.
A little over 365 days later, it was insert tape and hit play—rematch number three was underway. Could this be the year the Eagles finally got past the Knights, in the 2021 state final four game? The Eagles came in red hot, having gone on a 9-game winning streak since losing to their rival, while Hoban had looked a bit shaky at times over the course of the season. If the Eagles were going to do it, this was their chance.
Once again, it was Black Friday, and once it again, it was snowy! Like 2020, the game was played at Byers Field in Parma. After each team had a promising drive stall to start the game, Avon quarterback Sam DeTillo and running back Jakorian Caffey dominated the drive with an impressive mix of passing and running. DeTillo capped off the drive with a 12-yard quarterback run that made the score 7–0 in favor of the Eagles.
Hoban wouldn’t shy away from the challenge. Lamar Sperling once again carried his team down the field with a 30-yard run to put them in the red zone with only 2 short yards to go. The Eagle defense was stout, stopping Sperling and the triple stack power two plays in a row. Jayvian Crable completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Shawn Parnell for a touchdown to even up the score, 7–7.
Avon’s offense sputtered out on three plays, giving the ball back to Hoban’s high-powered offense. Crable and Sperling dominate the ground as the quarterback and running back duo. Crable set up Sperling’s 2-yard touchdown with a 56-yard run. This gave the Knights the lead, 14–7.
Avon tried to gain momentum; their drive ended before it could really start. A fumble killed the drive on the second play. The Knights got the ball at midfield. Hoban struck on their first play with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Crable to Rickey Williams to increase their lead by 7. This gave Williams his first touchdown on the year and gave Hoban a 21–7 lead.
Avon got the ball with just about six minutes left in the first half. They controlled the ball for almost all of those six minutes. Another drive with a good mix of runs and passes led the Eagles right down the field. DeTillo took it himself as he pulled Avon within 7 to make the score 21–14 in favor of Hoban at the half. Avon was convinced that this year would be different.
Then things got really crazy, as Avon hoped to stop Hoban at half to keep the game within one score. Hoban drove down the field and got into field-goal range with about twenty seconds left in the half. A negative pass to Sperling took Hoban out of field-goal range as they spiked the ball with only three seconds left.
It appeared that the Eagles would get out of the first half down by only one score, then they promptly shot themselves in the foot. Avon was penalized for having too many men on the field, and this put them within field-goal range. Durkin hit the 39-yard field goal to give the Knights a 10-point lead at halftime, 24–14.
Hoban got the ball to start the half and drove down the field thanks to a 45-yard run by Sperling. A negative run and penalty set the Knights back as they attempted a field goal. A delay of game pushed the Knights back, causing Durkin to miss the field goal, keeping the game at 24–14.
Nathanial Vakos nailed a 41-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter, making it a one-score ball game for the first time since the first quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Eagles got the ball back with all the energy they needed, as DeTillo continued his fantastic game on the ground, going for his 3rd rushing touchdown of the game. Vakos hit the extra point, tying the ball game at 24–24.
Hoban took their time and used their run attack that had been effective all game to drive down the field to set up Sperling for a 15-yard rushing touchdown. The Knights took the lead with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter, 31–24. Hoban was able to hang on for the win. Once again, so close for Avon but so far.
Hoban moved on to the state title game in Canton for the fourth time in five years, where they faced Winton Woods and were defeated. That evening in Parma, however, against Avon, Lamar Sperling continued his fantastic playoff campaign with a stat line of 29 carries, 280 yards and 2 touchdowns as he was the man of the hour at Byers Field.
Now, this Friday, BLACK FRIDAY, we do it once again!
