High School Rugby: Avon Lake starts slow, finishes fast for win over Avon

AVON — Nothing was easy for Avon Lake on Sunday as it began defense of its 2019 state championship with a Western Reserve Rugby Conference match against archrival Avon. The Shoremen came in with only 16 healthy players and quickly found themselves trailing by 14 points. Then Gavin Krock took over. Krock scored a try just before halftime and scored again 10 minutes into the second half to propel Avon Lake to a 27-17 come-from-behind win at Rugby World. Avon dominated most of the early part of the match, scoring first on a try from Kieran McSweeney less than three minutes after the opening whistle. Avon's Jake Hudak took advantage of a Shoremen turnover, rumbling 70 yards down the touchline to give the Eagles a 15-3 lead, followed by McSweeney's conversion kick that made the score 17-3. That's when Avon Lake decided it was time to buckle down and get back to its championship form. The 2020 season was canceled because of the pandemic. "After they scored their 17th point we were just kinda playing the blame game and I told the boys, 'Knock that off, win as a team, lose as a team,'" senior Conor McKenna said. "I think that may have rallied the boys a little bit." Avon Lake (1-0) quickly moved down the field to get a try from Krock, followed by a conversion kick from McKenna to cut the Eagles' lead to 17-10. "It's pretty exciting to start the year against Avon, it's always a big rivalry," Avon Lake coach Steve Maynard said. "It was a rough start for us but the second half is all that matters." In the second half the Shoreman tied the game at 17 with 24 minutes remaining on McKenna's conversion kick after Krock's second try. Ten minutes later McKenna grounded the ball in goal from a try of his own to put the Shoreman on top 22-17. "It feels so great to be back out here. I've been waiting for this for two years," McKenna said. "This is a great rivalry and they are fierce competitors. They knocked us around in the first half but we were able to come back." With an exceptionally short bench for the match, Avon Lake was counting on its players being in midseason shape on opening day. "We called the guys the 'Iron 16' today. We knew we were short on numbers so we counted on them to stay strong and pull it out," Maynard said. Senior Alex Auvil closed out the Avon Lake scoring with a try off of a scrum with five minutes remaining. "In the first half we were just figuring out our assignments," Krock said. "So I think in the second we realized we had to do what we've been doing in practice and run our plays. We recognized what penalties we were committing, we cleaned things up. "This win is huge for us. Every year we look forward to beating Avon in any sport, football, basketball, rugby or anything. We just want to beat Avon." McSweeney finished with two tries and a conversion kick for Avon. "I think we played well all the way through, we just couldn't get enough points on the scoreboard," Avon coach Ryan Steinmetz said. "Give Avon Lake credit, they had a good game. We let them stay in it. "It's always a fun game and a physical game against them. I like playing a big rivalry match first. It gives the guys a good look. It allowed us to see what we've got to get our level up to." Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Avon Lake&emsp;&emsp;10&emsp;&emsp;17&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;27 Avon&emsp;&emsp;17&emsp;&emsp;0&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;17 Tries: A — Kieran McSweeney 2, Jake Hudak; AL — Gavin Crock 2, Conor McKenna, Alex Auvil Conversion kicks: A — McSweeney; AL — McKenna 2 Penalty kicks: AL — McKenna.