High school football playoffs: Ethan Holbrook leads way as Avon rolls over Westlake

AVON — Halloween weekend is the time to pretend to be someone or something you're not. Friday night Avon's Ethan Holbrook put on his pads and helmet and pretended to be Jerry Rice. Holbrook, a senior wide receiver, had four first-half touchdowns and caught five passes for 202 yards as the Eagles routed Westlake 49-0 in a Division II, Region 6 opening-round game at Mark Walhberg Chevrolet Stadium. Holbrook, who came into the game leading the area with 757 yards receiving, had first-quarter touchdown catches of 29 and 25 yards as the top-seeded Eagles took an early 21-0. No. 16 seed Westlake (5-6) had its best drive to open the second quarter, marching down to the Eagles' 10 before Nolan Good intercepted a Sam Brucchieri pass to keep the Demons off the scoreboard. On the following play, Holbrook caught a pass from quarterback Sam DeTillio in front of the Eagles bench and maneuvered down the sideline, breaking four tackles along the way to a 90-yard touchdown that made the score 28-0. "Coach Elder made the play calls to get me the ball and I just happened to take them all the way," Holbrook said. "Every week our coaches come up with schemes that put us in the best position to win. After the 90-yard touchdown my confidence really skyrocketed. That was really thrilling for sure." Holbrook wasn't done yet though, he pulled down his fourth touchdown in the back of the end zone with less than minute remaining before the half. "Around here playoffs aren't hard to get ready for," Eagles coach Mike Elder said. "This is where we live and what we live for. I thought our kids came out with an edge and an attitude." Avon (10-1) handled the game with workman-like precision scoring on all six of its first-half possessions and seven of its first eight in the game. Junior Jakorion Caffey, who was the game's leading rusher with 80 yards on six carries, also found the end zone twice in the first half on runs of 28 and 5 yards. "It's good to see that kind of execution against a team that we had outmanned a little bit," Elder said. "A lot of people on the outside thought it would be easy to sleepwalk into this game but this team had a good week of practice and was prepared." The Eagles defense recorded their second consecutive shutout while holding the Demons to six first downs. DeTillio had another big night, going 6-for-9 with 211 yards and the four TD passes to Holbrook, which gives him 26 touchdowns this season. The highlight of the night for DeTillio came in the second quarter when he was on the receiving end of an Gavin Ehrhardt halfback pass that resulted in a 31-yard gain. It was DeTillio's first career reception. "I wanted to go all the way and score but I was just happy to catch the pass," DeTillio said. "That was a lot of fun." Avon will host No. 9 seed North Royalton, which defeated Fremont Ross in a 42-41 thriller, next Friday. DeTillio said the focus for the Eagles isn't on who's next in the bracket but instead on who's next to them in the locker room and on the practice field. "I'm not here for the ring on my finger, I'm here to spend as much time with my brothers next to me as I possibly can," DeTillio said. "We're not taking any opponent lightly. I know we were ranked No. 1 in the region but we're just taking it week-by-week." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.