Eagles hold on to win a nail-biter THE SCORE

It doesn’t get much more dramatic than a last-second pass breakup to win your season opener — at home, no less — but that’s exactly what Avon did to beat Strongsville, 21-14, on Aug. 26 in front of a packed crowd at Joe Firment Stadium.

After recovering a Strongsville fumble to open the final quarter, the Eagles were forced to punt it away after going three-and-out. But as was the story of the game, the Avon defense stood tall against the Mustangs, forcing a turnover on downs in Strongsville territory, which turned out to be the difference between a win and a loss.

Avon used the next five plays to go 34 yards as senior Mason McLemore barreled seven yards into the end zone on first and goal to put the Eagles on top, 21-14.

“We came into this game not knowing what to expect,” McLemore said. “We were replacing a lot of good starters from last year and Strongsville’s a very good team. We had a fast offense and that’s what kept us going and our defense came up clutch in the end and we pulled out with a victory.”

That fast Avon offense didn’t exactly pick up tempo until the second half.

The closest thing the Eagles got to a score in the first half was on their first possession. Avon used 10 plays to go 79 yards, but on fourth and one at the 1-yard line, the Strongsville defense held up as senior Bobby Proe wrapped up McLemore for a oneyard loss.

“The left side got blown up and I just got my legs taken out,” McLemore said.

It was seven straight punts after that as neither team could really find its rhythm. AVON 21, STRONGSVILLE 14

Strongsville’s Jared Anderson attempted a 41yard field goal that came up much too short as the first half expired and the teams headed to the locker rooms with zeros on the scoreboard.

That’s when the uptempo Avon offense came alive.

All it took was one play — a 50-yard pass from Ryan Maloy to Mitch Cooper — to spark the Eagles offense in the second half.

Strongsville answered with an 11-play, 77-yard touchdown drive of its own, and after giving up another Maloy touchdown — this time to tight end Vlasi Pappas — the Mustangs weren’t going down without a fight.

Strongsville’s Joe Gillette took the ensuing kickoff 95 yards to tie the game.

But the Avon defense wasn’t going to send the hometown crowd home with a loss in Week 1.

“I thought we played outstanding defense all day long,” Avon coach Mike Elder said. “This was a defensive win, but our offense did enough things in the second half to win … all-in-all, it’s a team effort but I’m really proud of our defense.”

Maloy finished 11-for24 with 141 yards and two touchdowns, and Elder said he’s proud of the way his young quarterback handled the pressure of his first Friday night start.

“He played like a young kid in the first half, then made some big plays in the second half,” Elder said. “He did some good things and some bad things, which is exactly what we expected in a sophomore’s first start.”

Avon (1-0) will travel to Avon Lake Sept. 2 to take on the Shoremen in the first Southwestern Conference game of the season for both teams.