High school playoffs: Grant Barr, Avon opening postseason against SWC rival Olmsted Falls

AVON — Grant Barr grew up dreaming of one day playing quarterback at Avon. "I envisioned myself as a quarterback," said Barr. "I was looking up to Jake Sopko, my favorite. I just wanted to play, so obviously, Nolan's pretty good. I knew I wasn't going to play behind him so I had to find somewhere else to play. (I was) lucky enough to be athletic. I was a slot receiver, outside receiver, running back, quarterback and even right tackle." The Nolan he spoke of was Nolan Good, last season's Lorain County Golden Helmet winner and All-Ohio quarterback, who led the Eagles to the state championship. Sopko (2013-15) is Avon's career leader in yards, touchdown passes and completions. As a sophomore, Barr realized his dream of becoming a quarterback wasn't going to happen but he has joined quite a list of talented receivers in Avon's football history. He fits right in with Matt Eckhardt, Ethan Holbrook, Braeden Fries, Will Heilman, Zack Torbert, and Chris Mullins, Ralph Smith and Matt Maxey, who he teamed with last year as a lethal tandem for Good. "Obviously he's an ultra-talented kid," coach Mike Elder said. "We knew that when he was a sophomore, when he transitioned from quarterback to wide receiver. It took probably two or three JV games for us to understand he stood out like a sore thumb. We always tell our guys, 'If you think you're a varsity player, then dominate JV games.' He did as a sophomore and as a sophomore became a starter for us, and it's hard to play for Avon as a sophomore. Grant Barr was able to do that." When asked if he thought he could catch any pass thrown his way, Barr said, "Yes, I can catch anything. There's no pass that's too far." "No question, I think he can, too," Elder said. "He's fun to watch. I've seen him make some of the most unbelievable high school catches look routine for the last three years. Get it around him and you have a chance. He's got a tremendous catch radius. "Last year, he was a starter for us on a state championship team and this year he's a team captain and one of the best football players. I equate throwing the ball to Grant Barr like throwing it through a garage door. If you can hit the garage door, you can hit Grant Barr. He's also very athletic. He's one of the fastest guys on the field." Barr has caught 49 passes this year, picking up 736 yards and scoring eight touchdowns. Last year, he had 42 receptions for 598 yards, and he had 28 catches as a sophomore for 534 yards. Those numbers put him among the elite receivers in Avon history. He's already piled up 1,868 yards receiving, which puts him just 10 yards behind Holbrook (2020-2022) for second place all-time. Eckhardt (2009-2011) at 2,216 is still 348 yards in front. For his career, Barr has 119 catches and 22 touchdowns. He only needs three more receptions to catch Eckhardt in those career totals. "He works exceptionally hard at his craft," said Elder. "He's going to go on to play college football. I think whoever gets him is going to get a steal. Right now, I think he's under-recruited and that's disappointing to me. Everybody has their reasons when it comes to the recruiting process and get very critical about things but in my humble opinion, he's one of the best receivers to ever play for Avon, and we've had some really good ones." As with past quarterback-receiver combinations, Barr and Elder's son Blake, this year's QB, spend lots of time together. Blake Elder has thrown for 2,134 yards this season, joining eight other Eagles quarterbacks who have hit the 2,000-yard mark. Avon is coming off a bye-week, something it never had to prepare for before, and it ended the season against winless Elyria, meaning the starters played half of the game, if that. Elder's concern is real. Olmsted Falls is coming off a great playoff win over Fremont Ross, when the Bulldogs put up 69 points in advancing to tonight's Division II, Region 6 quarterfinal at Avon. "Hey, listen, your schedule is what it is," Elder said. "Playoff mode at every game can go either way. All the teams are good. It's not ideal to play the team that's struggling the most in the league in Week 10 and then have a bye, but we don't get to control that. Having that edge in attitude, coming out of the gates knowing you're playing a quality opponent is a must. I think our team will be ready." Barr feels the coaches prepared the team for the bye-week by keeping the same routine last week, even though there was no game. "I think we did what was the best for us," he said. "We had Monday off and then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday we went hard, and Friday we looked ahead in preparation. Saturday, we did a little bit as well. I think we did a good job. "(Olmsted Falls) is physically tough, mentally tough. They have an interesting offense that gives people trouble, so we're looking to take it to them and hopefully come out on top." Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.