H.S. Football: Fin Jerdonek, Avon roll to win over injury-depleted Amherst

AVON — Senior wide receiver and defensive back Fin Jerdonek set the tone again for Avon on Friday night as the Eagles won their 39th straight Southwestern Conference game by beating Amherst 45-7. Avon (6-2, 5-0) has never lost to Amherst (4-4, 1-4) in 11 SWC meetings since the Eagles joined the conference in 2015. "Every game matters to us," said Jerdonek, who nearly had his second pick-six in as many weeks with a 50-yard return to the Amherst 6. "You've got to come in 100 percent, play with confidence, play up to our standard. We want to make a big run in the playoffs. We were playing for more than beating Amherst this week." "This team has not had a bad week of practice," said Avon coach Mike Elder. "They work really hard. That's all you can ask for. We were 1-2 and the sky was falling. There was optimism throughout the SWC about the Avon Eagles that this was the year to get them. We've got two more games but I'm proud of where we're at. Our goal, come playoff time, is to be a tough team to beat." Jerdonek is fast becoming one of the best receivers in Avon history. He caught four passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, one coming at the end of the first half, when he fought off a double-team to make a spectacular catch in the end zone to put the Eagles in front 42-0. Jerdonek has 11 touchdown receptions this season. "I have so much trust in Fin," said quarterback Trevor Sykora. "He's so good. I don't know what else to say other than he's the guy. Anything we need, we just go to him." "Fin Jerdonek is really special," said Elder. "He'll go down with the best receivers to ever play here. That's elite company. We've had some really good ones." Special team highlights came when Isaiah Bryant ran down Amherst's Christian Vorhees just short of a touchdown, preventing a 95-yard return by stopping Vorhees at the 3. Avon's defense held the Comets out of the end zone. Junior Nick Lombardy blocked two Amherst punts. The first one took a crazy bounce right back into punter Landon Johnson's hands and he was able to scramble for a first down. The second one he recovered to set up Michael Colburn's 33-yard touchdown run that pushed the lead to 28-0 with 5:28 left in the first half. "(Amherst) was barely touching me off the edge and I blocked it," said Lombardy. "I saw the same look, came off the edge and had to make sure I jumped on it. We've worked really hard for this. It's another team win." "The first one, I've never seen such a thing," said Elder. "We really have to talk about it. Our guys were still obviously blocking. We had a return on. We only brought (Lombardy) to make sure it's kicked and he did a great job." The Comets were without two of their biggest offensive weapons in junior Jack Coleman and sophomore Ethan Layne, who were injured. "Our guys just kept running," said coach Tom Thome. "They played hard all four quarters. I'm proud of them. I'm proud of (quarterback) Tony (Passerrello) getting into the end zone on that last (possession). Showed our grit and our guys not giving up." Olmsted Falls and Avon Lake are still hanging in the race for the conference title. Each has one conference loss, but the Shoremen host Avon next week in a rivalry battle. Avon Lake was the last team to beat Avon in SWC play in 2021. Amherst will host North Ridgeville. Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com. Avon 45, Amherst 7 Amherst 0 0 0 7 — 7 Avon 14 28 3 0 — 45 AV—Michael Colburn 7 run (Jude Theibert kick) AV—Trevor Sykora 19 run (Theibert kick) AV—Gavin Koehler 20 pass from Sykora (Theibert kick) AV—Colburn 33 run (Theibert kick) AV—Fin Jerdonek 6 pass from Sykora (Theibert kick) AV—Jerdonek 50 pass from Sykora (Theibert kick) AV—FG Landon Vega 22 AS—Anthony Passerrello 46 run (Josh Tomlin kick)