H.S. Football: Avon uses explosive plays to blow past Olmsted Falls 58-33

OLMSTED TWP. — Avon undoubtedly has Olmsted Falls' number. That number takes many forms. On Friday night, the most important was a 58-33 win for the Eagles in a key Southwestern Conference matchup in front of a big crowd. It extended Avon coach Mike Elder's dominance in the matchup to 20-0. The Eagles have eliminated the Bulldogs from the playoffs the last five years. "Obviously this was a conference championship, we were playing the best team other than us, obviously, in the conference," said Avon quarterback Trevor Sykora, who accounted for five touchdowns. "We were coming into this game knowing that we were going to win. We had a lot of energy and fuel." Avon (3-2, 2-0) was all about big numbers — and a few big stops. Sykora completed four passes in the first half, including a 92-yard touchdown to Fin Jerdonek, an 83-yard touchdown to Gavin Koehler and a 58-yard screen to running back Michael Colburn that led to a touchdown — a 9-yard scramble by Sykora. The explosive plays continued in the second half, as Colburn had touchdown runs of 44 and 87 yards. Jerdonek opened and closed the scoring, capping the night with a leaping 25-yard catch. The long scores countered 27 second-half points from the Bulldogs (3-2, 1-1), including two one-play, 65-yard drives. Quarterback Cameron Pesch threw a 65-yard touchdown to Grant Hrabnicky and ran 65 yards for a score on back-to-back possessions. "I think by the second half we wore them out," Elder said. "We're physical, our guys upfront are big and strong. We'll see these guys again in the playoffs and we know it's a four-quarter game." Sykora, a junior, made the most of limited opportunities after halftime. He finished 9-for-17 with 321 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. "I didn't think he had a good first half. Made a play with his feet but missed some open guys," Elder said. "Then the second half he settled in and did what we expect of Trevor Sykora, which is for four quarters of that. Because he's really good." The Eagles have won 36 straight in the SWC, with their last loss coming in Week 3 of 2021. But this hasn't been a typical season. They lost two straight and are still trying to figure out things on defense. The Eagles got better against the inside runs as the game progressed but didn't have an answer for Pesch, who threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 97 and one. "We're not in a good spot right now," Elder said of the defense. "We gave up way too many points. "He's a special player, man. That kid's a really good runner, he's a very accurate passer. Some of that credit goes to him." After a three-and-out on the game's opening drive, Avon struck quickly on the first play of its second drive. It was a sign of things to come. Sykora threw a quick in route to Jerdonek, who made a contested hands catch, broke a couple of tackles near the line of scrimmage, then ran away from the defense. The safety with the angle didn't really have the angle. "Fin Jerdonek's as good a football player as there is in this entire Northeast Ohio," Elder said. "He's quick, he's twitchy, he's fast, he's got great hands and a high football IQ." The Eagles' last explosive play of the half was the long touchdown to Koehler, who ran down the seam and was uncovered. "We practice how we play," Sykora said. "Obviously our play calling's great. Our line, couldn't ask for anything better. Always there. We really couldn't do it without our line." Olmsted Falls and its new spread offense had the Eagles on their heels much of the night, but the Eagles made critical plays early to gain separation. Linebacker Nathan Peters recovered a fumble on Avon's 8-yard line to end the Bulldogs' opening drive. Their next drive finished with a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-3 from the Avon 9. The Eagles also got a third-and-1 stop that forced a punt near midfield early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs finally scored with 17.1 seconds left in the half, capitalizing on three penalties by the Eagles — roughing the passer, a personal foul and a late hit out of bounds. The game was marred by a barrage of flags, including several 15-yarders. Pesch rolled right and found Jon LaRue for an 11-yard touchdown. That set the stage for a second half of back-and-forth big plays. "Some people had written this team off and we're a work in progress, but the Avon Eagles will be OK by the end of the year," Elder said. Contact Scott Petrak at (440) 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @scottpetrak on X. Avon 58, Olmsted Falls 33 Avon&emsp;7&emsp;15&emsp;15&emsp;21&emsp;—&emsp;58 Olmsted Falls&emsp;0&emsp;6&emsp;14&emsp;13&emsp;—&emsp;33 Scoring A — Fin Jerdonek, 92 pass from Trevor Sykora (Jude Theibert kick) A — Sykora, 9 run (Adrian Ramirez run) A — Gavin Koehler, 83 pass from Sykora (Theibert kick) OF — Jon LaRue, 11 pass from Cameron Pesch (kick failed) A — Michael Colburn, 44 run (Theibert kick) OF — Adam Smith, 9 from Pesch (Pesch run) A — Ramirez, 3 run (Ramirez run) OF — Grant Hrabnicky, 65 from Pesch (pass failed) A — Bryce Chura, 19 from Sykora (Theibert kick) OF — Pesch, 65 run (pass failed) A — Colburn, 87 run (Theibert kick) OF — Smith, 13 from Pesch (Dillon Young kick) A — Jerdonek, 25 pass from Sykora (Theibert kick)