High school football: Too many penalties, mistakes cost Avon down the stretch against Hoban

PARMA — Avon had Hoban on the ropes, but a couple of miscues prevented it from delivering the knockout blow. The Eagles committed too many penalties and a backbreaking turnover, allowing Hoban to rally in the fourth quarter for a 17-14 win in their Division II state semifinal at Byers Field on Friday. Hoban (13-1) will face Massillon Washington (15-0) in the state championship Thursday evening. The Knights are making their eighth state championship appearance in nine years, chasing their sixth title. "We just gave up one too many plays," Avon senior safety Carson Canning said. "That play where we all missed a tackle out there, no one person's fault, we just missed too much. We brought them back in the game and kind of screwed ourselves over there. That's a good team, but our defense played really good." Avon (14-1), which will finish with the most wins in school history, was making its sixth appearance in the state semifinals in the past seven years, facing Hoban for the fifth time. The Eagles jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the second quarter, and senior safety Connor Rowlison secured an interception on the ensuing drive that would have set the Eagles up at the Knights 16-yard line. However, a holding penalty moved Avon back to the 26-yard line. A false start two players later moved the Eagles to the 31 and, instead of taking a two-score lead, two plays later Avon turned it back over on downs. The Eagles committed 10 penalties for 69 yards. "That's a really good defense and we might have been a little bit intimidated," Canning said. "Our offense played amazing, though. We couldn't ask for anything more. We knew we had to hold them low, but we didn't hold them low enough. There were a couple of penalties that shouldn't have happened." Avon forced Hoban to punt, and on the next play running back Jakorion Caffey, a Cincinnati commit, burst through the middle of the line for what would have been a 27-yard gain to midfield. However, a holding penalty brought the ball back to the Avon 21-yard line, followed by a false start that put the Eagles in a first-and-17 hole. A bad snap caused Avon to punt from its own 10-yard line, setting up Hoban at midfield. The Knights had enough time to get into field goal range and take a 7-3 lead into the half. Avon, however, shook off the first half to take a 14-3 lead. Canning came up with a huge tackle on Hoban's first drive, stopping the Knights at the Avon 32-yard line. Caffey blew through the Knights for a 66-yard gain, followed by a 6-yard touchdown to give Avon a 14-3 lead. The Eagles, nursing a 14-10 lead, converted a fourth down at the end of the third quarter. But Avon turned the ball over to open the fourth when it ran a trick play, resulting in wide receiver Matt Maxey throwing an interception. Hoban was set up with a 35-yard field and scored the go-ahead touchdown five plays later. "It was a roll right play and I was supposed to automatically throw the ball," Maxey said. "It was a cloudy read, I threw it and I think it tipped off of someone's hand (on the defense). "I think this was a great season. We set the record at 14-1, but we're losing a great group of guys so hopefully we can come back next year." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.