Eagles take to the road to earn ninth consecutive regional final berth

Avon football coach Mike Elder has always talked about his team being balanced, referring to both running and passing the ball on offense. But for much of the season, the Eagles were pass-heavy, depending on the right arm of senior quarterback Blake Elder, the coach’s son and the district Offensive Player of the Year, who passed for nearly 2,400 yards and 28 touchdowns in 11 games. However, Friday night, in a Division II regional semifinal at Wadsworth’s Art Wright Stadium, Avon showed it can do whatever is necessary to get a victory, grinding out 245 yards on the ground to roll past the previously undefeated Grizzlies, 42-21. Next up for the 11-1 Eagles is top-seed Medina Highland, which rolled past North Ridgeville, 48-0, in their semifinal. The final will be played Friday at Brunswick High School. “I thought the physicality on both sides of the ball was the difference,” said Mike Elder. “They’ve got great athletes, we’ve got great athletes. But I think the difference in the end was the physicality. We felt that the strength of Wadsworth was their skill guys. We could line up and try to throw the ball every down, but we felt like our advantage was in the trenches. So, that’s what the game plan was, and that’s what we did.” Quiante Smith led the way for Avon with 103 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. Cam Wendell added 47 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, and backup quarterback Trevor Maly chipped in with 59 yards and a score on just four carries. All of that happened behind an offensive line that took advantage of its superior size and strength. The starters on the line for Avon were Jack Fitch (5-foot-10, 234 pounds), Eian Englehart (6-3, 245), Braden Patrick (6-2, 240), Caden Krugman (6-1, 254) and Max Hauck (6-4, 300). The Eagles also used Lance Dawson (6-5, 255), Dylan Luker (6-0, 228) and Ben Strichek (6-0, 210) in certain formations as tight ends. “We thought going into this game that our advantage is our physicality, so we lined up in some heavy sets, and we were able to lean on these guys,” said Mike Elder. “We’ve got some good backs that were able to do a good job. And then, Trevor Maly as a wildcat came in and gave us a big spark.” On the other side of the ball, Avon faced an offense that had never scored less than 34 points all season and averaged more than 45 points per game. The Eagles held to just 66 yards a Wadsworth running attack that boasted two backs who had gained more than 1,000 yards this season. They also intercepted quarterback Brysen Hall twice, doubling his total for the season. The offense only scored two touchdowns, as the third came on a kick return after an Avon onside kick. “We knew what they were going to run based off of their formations,” said linebacker Ryan Stolarski. “It was definitely able to help us on a lot of plays where we could recognize what we thought they were going to do. One of their scores was on the onside kick, so we let in 14 points, which is good. But there’s still a lot of room to get better. We heard Highland shut out Ridgeville, so we have another tough opponent next week.” The interceptions came on Wadsworth’s opening possession of each half. Stolarski had the interception in the third quarter when Hall heaved the ball into the secondary to avoid being sacked. Jairel Fenton did the honors in the first quarter, and it set up the Eagles to never trail the entire evening. Hall, who completed 21 of 34 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns, attempted to throw an out pattern on the second play of the game for the Grizzlies, but Fenton jumped the route and had clear sailing to the end zone. Forty-six yards later he was in the end zone, giving Avon a 7-0 lead. Wadsworth tied the game at seven on the next possession, and for the second consecutive drive, the Eagles were forced to punt on the ensuing possession. However, that’s when the Avon defense started to take over. On three consecutive drives, the Eagles came up with stops, twice forcing a turnover on downs, and once forcing a punt after a three-play possession. After each stop, Avon drove down and scored, building a 28-7 lead. “It was ideal,” said Grant Barr. “You stop them, and you score. You stop them, and you score. That’s how you win games.” Barr played a big role in the defense stepping up. Known more as one of the top wide receivers in the state, the senior found himself playing safety against Wadsworth’s passing attack. He said playing defense is something that he enjoys as it gives him the opportunity to hit instead of being hit. “This was the first game I actually got in a bunch on defense,” he said. “I enjoy it a lot. I enjoy going out there and reversing it and being able to smack someone.” Barr laid a big hit on a play that seemed to change the momentum to Avon. With the score tied at seven, the Grizzlies put together a drive that had the huge home crowd in a tizzy, as it seemed destined to end in a touchdown. However, on fourth-and-20 from the Avon 32, Barr came up on a pass over the middle and completely dislodged the ball from the receiver, forcing a turnover on downs. Nine running plays later, Wendell found the end zone, and it was 14-7. “I was playing deep third, and I saw the ball come out over the middle,” said Barr. “I was a step late getting the pick, so I had to go for the guy instead. They were driving a little bit, so that definitely helped us regain confidence and momentum and let us go score.” On the next Wadsworth possession, a host of Eagles stopped running back Cooper Gray for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1, giving the Eagles the ball on their own 45. Five plays later, Smith scored from 3 yards out, and Wadsworth never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way. Barr actually had an interception on the drive that ended with Stolarski’s interception. However, the play was called back on a roughing the passer penalty that came on a very late flag that wasn’t thrown until after Barr’s return put him past the line of scrimmage, meaning any contact with the quarterback should be deemed as a block on the return. But the flag stood, and Elder was steaming as he viewed it as another in a long line of questionable calls against Avon. “I thought our players did a better job (of handling) that than me,” he said. “I’m going to be honest with you. I’ve never been part of a game like this. I’ll have to watch the film to confirm my thoughts, but we have replay on our sideline, and there’s just some things that went on in this game that are mind-boggling to me as a coach. It did create a lot more adversity, and then the game itself creates adversity. So, I was proud of our kids. They did a really good job. They certainly were less affected by some of that adversity than I was as head coach. I have to do a better job.” At any rate, the Eagles advanced and now play Highland, a team they defeated last year, 28-20. This will be the third consecutive year that the teams have met in the playoffs, with Avon winning the first two. “We’re prepared for them, and they’re prepared for us, make no mistake,” said Mike Elder. “We play them once a year, just like we play everybody in the SWC. They’re really good and talented. I have tremendous respect for coach (Mike) Gibbons and that program. It should be a heck of a football game.”