H.S. Football: Avon beats St. Ignatius with late TD and 2-point conversion

CLEVELAND — When things looked bleak for Avon on Thursday in the fourth quarter of its season opener against St. Ignatius, Trevor Sykora and Jackson Palmer found a way to turn it around. Sykora, the junior quarterback, connected with Palmer for a 27-yard gain on fourth-and-8 with just over three minutes remaining to keep Avon's hopes alive. And after Michael Colburn's second touchdown of the night with 14 seconds remaining, Sykora found Palmer again for the winning 2-point conversion as the Eagles stunned the Wildcats 22-21 at Huntington Bank Field. Although his offense struggled for much of the second half, Avon coach Mike Elder had his mind made up to go for 2 and the win if given the opportunity. "We're always going to be aggressive at Avon," said Elder, whose Eagles are two-time defending state champions in Division II. "Obviously we executed and got the play done. That was a great play by Trevor Sykora and how about Palmer. He waits his time in this program, becomes a captain and gets to make the biggest play at Browns Stadium." Palmer made two big catches in the final drive, but nothing prepared him for the feeling of reaching into the night air to pull down the winner in the corner of the end zone. "That might be the best feeling of my life, catching a play like that at Browns Stadium in front of all of these people," Palmer said. "This is what dreams are made of. I am going to go to bed happy tonight. I don't know if I am going to be able to fall asleep, I am still shaking." After a scoreless first quarter, Sykora hit Fin Jerdonek down the seam for a 53-yard touchdown to put Avon on the board early in the second quarter. A Ryan Eaton interception on the ensuing St. Ignatius drive gave Avon great field position deep in Wildcats territory. Three plays later Colburn capped a 21-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run that was followed by a Jude Theibert PAT to give Avon a 14-0 lead. In the first game under new coach Tom Kaufman, the Wildcats got on the board with 1:59 remaining in the half thanks to a 19-yard Billy Cole touchdown run. In the second half sophomore running back Tyler McMillon took over the St. Ignatius offense. McMillon scored on a 17-yard run with 1:25 left in the third quarter to tie the game, then gave the Wildcats their first lead with 5:38 remaining with a 16-yard score. After Ignatius took the lead, Sykora led Avon on a 14-play, 77-yard drive to win the game. "Last year doesn't mean anything. We're not defending any titles," Elder said. "Those guys are gone. (Michael) Jordan and Scottie Pippen didn't come back on this team to defend anything. We're a brand new team. We're young, but that drive will define how we grow this season and we'll get better every week." When the game was on the line, Sykora put his faith in his teammates and coaches. "I believe in my coaches and I believe in my teammates," Sykora said. "I could not do any of this without them. They got me to where I'm at right now. I couldn't have asked for anything better. This environment was so fun, especially doing this with my teammates." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Avon 22, St. Ignatius 21 Avon&emsp;0&emsp;14&emsp;0&emsp;8&emsp;—&emsp;22 St. Ignatius&emsp;0&emsp;6&emsp;8&emsp;7&emsp;—&emsp;21 Scoring A — Fin Jerdonek, 53 pass from Trevor Sykora (Jude Theibert kick) A — Michael Colburn, 3 run (Theibert kick) I — Billy Cole, 19 run (run fail) I — Tyler McMillon, 17 run (Trey Haddad pass from Jacob Mikin) I — McMillon, 16 run (Griffin Roberts kick) A — Michael Colburn, 2 run (Jackson Palmer pass from Trevor Sykora)