High school football playoffs: Avon gets big plays when it needs them, downs Brecksville to advance to regional final rematch against Avon Lake

AVON — The true sign of a championship team is when the game is on the line anyone on the roster is capable of stepping up and making a game-changing play. When Avon found itself trying to hold on to a slim three-point lead in Friday's Division II, Region 6 semifinal game against Brecksville-Broadview Heights, it had two unsung heroes emerge. Senior defensive linemen Mason Bingham recovered a fourth-quarter fumble and had a huge third-down tackle to help thwart Brecksville's final possession of the game, while junior wide receiver Tim Conwell caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Niko Pappas with 3:34 left to play to give the Eagles a two-score lead as they pulled away late for a 38-28 win. Avon (9-0) took the lead for good at 31-28 with 9:43 remaining on a 43-yard Pappas touchdown run — his second rushing score of the night. The Eagles then tried to evoke the element of surprise with an onside kick, however, Brecksville (7-2) fell on the ball to take possession at midfield. Three plays later, Bingham recovered a Garrett Kubitz fumble and gave the Avon offense a change to get back on the field. "Our defense was taking some hits the entire game and to be able to come up with the energy we needed and get that momentum when we needed it was huge," Bingham said. Conwell, who only caught 11 passes in the regular season, was the Eagles' leading receiver Friday with six catches for 112 yards. His touchdown reception was just his second of the year. "Some guys went down this week and I just had to step up. That's what we do at Avon," Conwell said. "Our coaches make sure we always get rotated and we know what to do, then when we get a chance, we get the job done." Pappas had a big night with his arm and his feet. The 6-foot, 185-pound senior was 12-for-20 for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air and also rushed for 99 yards and a pair of touchdowns. "The offensive line drove us down the field when we had to get the momentum back on our side," Pappas said. "We have so many weapons it really opens up the field. It's great you don't have to turn to one guy. You can just scan the field and hit whoever is open." Pappas also connected with Michael Ptacek on a 55-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. There we six lead changes in the game. Brecksville scored first on a Joe Labas 1-yard run for a 7-0 lead. The Eagles took their first lead of the night late in the first quarter on a 28-yard Desmond Kelly touchdown run. Kelly also came up with a key sack from his defensive line position during Brecksville's final drive of the game. Kubitz, the game's leading rusher with 188 yards, scored the only points of third quarter for the Bees, capping a 13-play drive to kick off the second half with a 1-yard TD run. The biggest sequence of the game for the Eagles came late in the first half. With 2:56 left to play before intermission, Avon stopped the Bees on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line. The Eagles offense then went on an eight-play, 99-yard drive that ended 2:09 later with a 6-yard Pappas scoring run that gave Avon a 24-14 halftime lead. "We knew we were playing a high-powered offense so anytime we could get a stop, no matter how we got it would be clutch," Avon coach Mike Elder said. "To keep them out of the end zone and then go 99 yards, that was a huge turning point in the game." For the second year in a row, Avon will face its biggest rival, Avon Lake, with the regional championship on the line. The Shoremen earned a spot in that game by defeating Toledo Central Catholic 16-14 on Friday. "I can't wait to play Lake," Bingham said. "They got some players back that they didn't have Week 1 and we're a much better team then we were Week 1. It's going to be a great game. I can't wait." Although the Eagles are still three wins away from achieving their ultimate goal of bringing a state championship to Avon, Elder is pleased with what he's seen from his team since they started their season with a double-overtime win over the Shoremen. "I'm going to be honest, we're in the middle of a global pandemic," he said. "There's a lot of craziness going on in this world and what an awesome distraction we have with this football team. "I love all of my teams but this one will always have a special place because of all the uncertainty they've navigated through. These kids are resilient and impressive." Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Avon 38, Brecksville 28Brecksville 7 7 7 7 — 28Avon 10 14 0 14 — 38Scoring B- Joe Labas, 1 run (Aidan Minnick kick)A - Nathanial Vakos, 44 FGA - Desmond Kelly, 28 run (Vakos kick)B - Labas, 3 run (Minnick kick)A - Michael Ptacek, 55 pass from Niko Pappas (Vakos kick)A - Pappas, 6 run (Vakos kick)B - Garrett Kubitz, 1 run (Minnick kick)B - Jeremy Jonozzo, 20 pass from Labas (Minnick kick)A - Pappas, 43 run (Vakos kick)A - Tim Conwell, 27 pass from Pappas (Vakos kick) Team statistics B AFirst downs 26 18-- by rushing 15 9-- by passing 11 9-- by penalty 0 0Yards rushing 205 242Yards passing 258 212Total offense 465 454Passes att./comp. 32/18 20/12Intercepted by 0 0Fumbles/lost 4/2 1/1Penalties/yards 5/44 4/18 Individual statisticsRUSHING — (B) Garrett Kubitz 30-188, Joe Labas 11-17. (A) Devon Hunter 17-99, Niko Pappas 8-99, Desmond Kelly 3-39, Gavin Ehrhardt 2-5.PASSING — (B). Labas 18-32-258-1-0. (A) Pappas 12-20-212-2-0.RECEIVING — (B) Jeremy Jonozzo 8-118, Luke Ganim 5-95, Luke Buckley 3-21, Ethan Van Rumple 1-12, Corey Stease 1-12. (A) Tim Conwell 6-112, Michael Ptacek 4-71, Andrew Smith 2-29.