Avon's Blake Elder named Golden Helmet Award winner for top senior football player in Lorain County

AVON — Blake Elder was born a month after his father Mike Elder coached his first football game at Avon on Aug. 25, 2007, against Avon Lake at Cleveland Stadium. Maybe Blake was destined to be the Lorain County Golden Helmet Award winner. Thursday, after Avon's practice and surrounded by his teammates and coaches, Blake was named the recipient of the prestigious honor, presented annually to the top senior in Lorain County. He is third straight Eagles player to receive the award sponsored by WOBL/WDLW, joining Nolan Good (last year) and Jakorion Caffey two years ago. Seven Avon players have won the award since its inception in 1965, when Elyria linebacker Randy Stevenson was the recipient. Amherst's Cy Christensen, Vermilion's Evan Kuhns and North Ridgeville's Cole Miller were all named special mention. Avon Lake won that game 18 years ago, 50-25, spoiling Coach Elder's debut, but it wasn't long after that he built Avon into the powerhouse it is today. Blake, who carries a 3.3 GPA, will be calling signals for the Eagles as they take on the region's No. 1 seed, unbeaten Highland, in the Region 6 final tonight. It hasn't always been easy being the son of the coach, but it has its benefits. "Playing quarterback here is a lot of fun," said Mike Elder. "When you get the keys to that car, it's a fun one to drive. I couldn't be prouder of him for the way he's driven it. It's a tough situation for him to walk into. Defending state champs and having to replace a quarterback, arguably one of the best to ever play here (Good), and a Mr. Ohio Football finalist. All that and your dad is the head coach. There's not more pressure that comes than that. He's done a good job of handling that and growing in confidence every single week." "It came with some challenges, but it's been super fun," said Blake Elder. "I think everyone would love to spend extra time with their dad. It's doing something you both love, but it just makes it extra special." Blake was pressed into action as a sophomore after Good injured his shoulder in the Olmsted Falls playoff game two years ago. All he did in relief was complete four of eight passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns, including a back–breaking 78-yarder to Cole Kepner to pull Avon from a 15-12 fourth-quarter deficit in a 33-23 victory. The following week, he shook off an interception nullified due to a defensive holding penalty to throw a touchdown pass to Matt Maxey, as Avon beat Highland 28-14 in the Region 6 final. The next week, at the state semifinal, he threw another TD pass, this one to Tyler Kaufmann, to put the Eagles in front of Akron Hoban, but Avon couldn't hold on and lost a heartbreaker, 17-14. "I didn't have any varsity experience before that," said Blake. "I just knew if I did my job, complete some passes and not turn the ball over, I'd be fine. That experience grew me so much as a person." Good helped in any way he could, offering his assistance throughout the playoff run. "Nolan was super helpful the whole time," said Blake. "Some players get injured, they're selfish and want to be down the whole time and have people feel sorry for them. Nolan was the complete opposite. Nolan came back from surgery and all he did was help me get better the whole time. I couldn't thank him more." Blake waiting in the wings while Good, who is at Kent State, starred. "He showed great patience," Mike Elder said of his son. "He had to wait his turn, because he played behind a tremendous football player. He got a little taste of it as a sophomore, but the guy in front of him was a better football player, and he had to wait until his senior year. Statistically speaking, no one has had a better year. His QB rating's off the charts, and he makes great decisions with the ball. He'll go down as one of the best accurate passers that we've ever had." He's already on the list of great quarterbacks to play for Avon in terms of attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. This year, he Blake is 12th in single-season attempts (315), eighth in completions (203) and passing yards (3,317), and seventh in touchdowns (37). He's had just four interceptions in his career. His best game came against Avon Lake, when he threw for five touchdowns, two each to Grant Barr and Fin Jerdonek. He completed 14 of 15 passes for a season-high 338 yards. Career-wise, he is seventh in passing yards with 3,317, touchdowns with 37 and completions with 203. He's completed 64 percent of his passes in his career, 67 percent this season. "He's always been a very accurate passer since being a little guy," Mike Elder said. "He's been around the game and been on our sideline since he's been in kindergarten. He's seen it all. He's celebrated big wins and he's sat there and cried over devastating losses. No one's been more of an Avon football fan than him growing up. "We won a lot of games. I think his career record from the third grade is probably like 75 or 76 and five. He's started over 80 games since the third grade. He's a winner." "In practice, he had to come against our varsity defense as a sophomore," said Lee Powell, Avon's quarterback coach. "He's gotten some confidence, and his greatest strength is he threads the needle. He's one of the most accurate quarterbacks we've ever had here. He's not a rah-rah guy. He's been playing with big energy, with the understanding he's pretty good at this." "(Coach Powell) is just amazing," said Blake. "He's taught me everything I know. He's been there for me whenever I've needed something. He's been a big part of it." As is the case every year, Avon lost a ton of great players through graduation. "I've been with the program forever, so I know we're always going to have (positions to fill)," said Blake. "But the thing about Avon is we always rebuild and fill those holes. I knew we had a lot of pressure coming in after such a successful year, but I think that Week 2 loss (at Spruce Lake, Florida) really relieved a lot of stress. I think from that point we just went out and played our game." Avon has won 10 straight since that loss and hasn't lost to a team in Ohio since Hoban in the 2023 state semifinal. "Right now, in the playoffs, all these teams are good," Blake said. "It comes down to who wants it more. Being the underdog, I think everyone here likes it. You don't want to be the underdog. You want to win every game. "Against Olmsted Falls, we threw for like 250 yards and four touchdowns, and then we come to Wadsworth and we're rushing for 300 yards and four touchdowns. It's incredible to have all these weapons." The Golden Helmet came as a surprise, but Blake took it in stride, thanking his teammates and coaches as he was presented the trophy. "I was completely surprised but this is awesome," Blake said. "I'm super blessed to receive this." Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com. Lorain County Golden Helmet Winners Year Player, School, Position 1965 Randy Stevenson, Elyria LB 1966 Ralph Holloway, Oberlin FB/DL 1967 Dick Wakefield, Avon Lake WR 1968 Jim Svoboda, Lorain WR/LB 1969 John Husband, Elyria FB 1970 Kurt Schumacher, Lorain FB/DT 1971 Ike Maxwell, Elyria TB 1972 Bob Hyatt, Keystone HB Gus Mecera, Clearview OT/DT 1973 Bruce Yeager, Elyria Cath FB/DL 1974 Tim Burns, Wellington TB Steve Holovacs, Firelands TB 1975 Virgil Williams, Lorain HB 1976 Greg Jones, Elyria West TB 1977 Bryan Thomas, Elyria Cath TB 1978 Craig Best, No Ridgeville TB 1979 Jon Burger, Elyria LB/PK 1980 Jeff Mey, Vermilion TB 1981 Vince Villanucci, Lorain OL 1982 John Berner, Avon Lake TB 1983 Bob Calamari, Ad. King QB Brian Schneider, Elyria Cath. FB 1984 Al McKinney, Elyria Cath. TB 1985 Jeff Seasor, No. Ridgeville LB 1986 David Lyons, Clearview FB 1987 Tyrone Nelson, Elyria West TB Dennis Washington, Lorain TB 1988 Steve Tovar, Elyria West LB 1989 Tony Godbolt, Elyria TB 1990 Erik Engel, No. Ridgeville TB 1991 Ron Leshinski, Vermilion TE 1992 Ty Grude, Firelands QB LaRon Trice, Elyria West TB/DT 1993 Tim Schumacher, Avon Lake OT/DT 1994 Jerel Klue, No. Ridgeville LB 1995 Ricky Schneider, Amherst QB 1996 Zach Mitchell, Avon FB/LB 1997 Ryan Myers, Wellington FB/LB Erik Rogers, Vermilion TB 1998 Matt Wilhelm, Elyria Cath. TB/LB 1999 Dan Rozanski, Midview TB/LB 2000 Jeff Strauch, Avon Lake TB 2001 Brian Cesear, Amherst FB/LB 2002 Dustin Intihar, Columbia TB 2003 John Schroeder, Avon Lake TB 2004 Trey Stross, Avon Lake WE/DB 2005 P.J. Mahone, Elyria TB/DB 2006 John McGraw, No.Ridgeville TB 2007 Mike Haddad, Avon Lake TB 2008 Ryan O'Rourke, Avon QB 2009 Anthony Hitchens, Clearview TB 2010 Danny Reaser, Elyria Cath. QB 2011 Matt Eckhardt, Avon WR 2012 Tracy Sprinkle, Elyria DE 2013 Jay Banyasz, Columbia QB 2014 C.J. Conrad, Keystone TE 2015 Logan Bolin, Midview WR 2016 Dustin Crum, Midview QB 2017 Justin Sturgill, Lorain QB 2018 Brandon Coleman, Columbia TB 2019 Jacob Shackelford, Keystone QB 2020 Niko Pappas, Avon QB 2021 Gideon Lampron, Keystone TB/LB 2022 Levi Ellis, Elyria Catholic TB/LB 2023 Jakorion Caffey, Avon TB 2024 Nolan Good, Avon QB 2025 Blake Elder, Avon QB