High school football: Avon rolls to win over Amherst

AVON — When fall arrives in Lorain County, three things are certain — the days get shorter, the nights get colder and Avon wins the Southwestern Conference. The Eagles clinched at least a share of their ninth consecutive SWC title Friday with a dominating 42-7 win over Amherst at Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet Stadium. Avon (9-0, 6-0 SWC) had its passing game in postseason form — throwing for 380 yards — and the Eagles defense held the Comets scoreless with the only Amherst points coming on a 25-yard David Dudziak interception return in the third quarter. "We've gotten better every week and this was no exception," Avon coach Mike Elder said. "There's an explosive nature to our offense right now. And our defense, kudos to them, they kept them out of the end zone, what more can you say." After forcing Amherst to a turnover on downs on the game's opening possession, the Eagles marched 71 yards on eight plays and got on the scoreboard with a 5-yard touchdown run by quarterback Nolan Good. In the second quarter, Avon did away with the formalities of sustained drives and opted instead for quick strikes. The Eagles had a pair of one-play possessions that ended in long touchdown passes. The first was a 78-yarder from Good to Matt Maxey to make the score 14-0. Later in the half, Maxey turned the tables by taking a lateral from Good and then throwing a 68-yard bomb to a wide open Grant Barr that allowed the Eagles to go into the locker room with a 28-0 lead. "We've been practicing that all week," Maxey said. "We run a lot of bubbles (screens). They can't get up on me every time. If they come up I am going to throw it deep. I wasn't nervous at all, I've been a quarterback since Day 1. I'm just in a wide receiver position." Good, who finished the night 13-of-20 passing for 312 yards also had a 77-yard touchdown pass to Cole Kepner in the third quarter. "We've got some of the most talented guys in the state at their positions," said Good, a Kent State commit. "(Amherst) is a good team for the SWC but there's levels to this stuff. We came out and showed we're on a different tier than that team. "Winning the SWC is everything we've worked for since the start of the year. We have three goals at the start of the year ... win the SWC, beat (Avon) Lake and win the state championship." Amherst (6-3, 3-3) has already clinched a playoff spot in Division II, Region 6 where Avon owns the top seed, but the Comets aren't exactly trending in the right direction. They have now lost three of their last four games with the only win coming against winless Elyria. Against the Eagles, Amherst gave up 475 yards of offense while only managing to gain 167 yards. "We played hard for 48 minutes, we're gonna keep grinding and not back down," Amherst coach Tom Thome said. "We've just got to execute a little better and work on getting better every day." Comets quarterback Cole Norris, the Comets all-time leader in touchdown passes, wasn't able to add to that number Friday but he did lead Amherst with 85 yards rushing. "It's hard when you wear the expectations and weight of the word every week and every year," Elder said. "Our players feel it, they don't want to be the players not to win the league. We don't want a share, we want to win it outright next week. "The truth is nine years in row, in this league with the coaches and the players we face every week is pretty impressive stuff. I couldn't be more proud of our players and coaches for making that happen." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.