High school football: Avon refuses to get boxed in, relies on different looks, outside runs to combat dominant Highland defense

ELYRIA — Medina Highland stacked the box, but Avon thought outside it. The Eagles got creative against a stout Hornets front, lining up quarterback Nolan Good at running back and wide receiver Matt Maxey at quarterback. Maxey handed off to Good for a 65-yard touchdown to open the Division II, Region 6 championship at Elyria High School. Avon held on for a 28-20 win to clinch its seventh regional title in eight years. "Every week our coaches give us such a great game plan," said Good, who finished with 119 rushing yards. "I think we took advantage of me being out last year. Matt Maxey had a hell of a game last year, he was our guy last year and he made tons of plays tonight. We knew that if we lined him up at quarterback, wildcat, they'd think chances are he's going to take the ball and run with it. I think we caught them off guard with that play. Our coaches came up with a great idea. First play of the game, it doesn't get much greater than that." Avon (14-0) will face Akron Hoban (12-2) for the sixth time in the state semifinals Friday at a site to be determined. The Eagles are seeking their first win against the Knights in their eight-year run. The Eagles piled up 310 rushing yards — the second straight week they eclipsed the 300-yard mark as a team — but this time they needed to get creative against Highland (13-1). The Hornets defense is anchored by Carson Noonan, who is receiving Division I college looks, and Ryan Zywiec. Both also anchor the offensive line. To counter the heavy box, Avon went outside on jet sweeps and even lined up Maxey at running back. It produced some big plays. Maxey took a handoff out of the shotgun for a 58-yard touchdown run on the opening play of the second quarter to put Avon up 21-0. Maxey entered the game with 39 rushing yards on four carries, but he more than doubled that Friday with 82 yards. "We know they stack the box," Maxey said. "They have two good players on their team. We were going to spread them out and then when they were wide out we ran it up the gut. We had a counter to everything they wanted to do to us. But all credit to the offensive line. The offensive line is the reason we won the game." Even when Avon didn't elect to hand the ball off to Maxey or one of its other wide receivers in motion, the sweep opened things up the middle. On Avon's third-quarter drive, running back Tyler Kaufmann converted a critical third down with an 18-yard gain up the middle after faking to senior wideout Cole Kepner on a sweep. That drive ended in a 4-yard touchdown run for Good, giving Avon a 28-14 lead with 11:23 left in the game. Maxey's only other carry came on a sweep to open Avon's penultimate drive after Highland cut the deficit to 28-20. He took it off the left side of the line for a 24-yard gain. The drive ultimately resulted in a punt, but the Eagles were able to milk 2:10 off the clock and then stop Highland to seal the win. "It was effective," Avon coach Mike Elder said of the jet sweeps. "And then later on when we didn't hand it off, it was effective for us, too. It's a motion we've had in all year, it's not something we used every game, but tonight it came up big. Kudos to my coaching staff for finding that and kudos to my players for executing it at such a high level." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.