The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Eagles overcome injuries to advance
With its leading rusher, senior Tony Eberhardt, sidelined with mono, topseeded Avon dug deep into its rushing arsenal, overwhelming fourth-seeded Medina Highland with four rushing touchdowns, en-route to a 28-10 victory in a Division II, Regional 6 semifinal at Pat Catan Stadium in Strongsville on Nov. 10.
The Eagles advance to a regional final on Nov. 17 against a familiar foe, Southwestern Conference heavyweight Olmsted Falls.
After the win, Eagles coach Mike Elder applauded the team’s resilience.
“Tony Eberhardt is probably playing his best football, so we miss him,” Elder said. “Today we lost Kyle Kudla, who is our captain. Vlassi Pappas (leg injury). I don’t think people understand the resilience of this team. We are playing without four of our best football players, and still winning football games. I am just so proud of the grit and the determination of these kids.” Elder said.
The Eagles (12-0) were led by dual-threat quarterback, Ryan Maloy. The junior tallied eight carries for 25 yards and one touchdown, while going 19-of-25 for 183 yards through the air. Maloy capped his night with a beautiful fake handoff that fooled the entire Hornets defense, allowing him to scurry into the end zone for the 5-yard touchdown.
The score boosted the Eagles’ lead to 28-10 with 6 minutes left in the game, ending any threat of a Medina Highland comeback.
With their main rusher out of the equation, Maloy knew his teammates would step up.
“You can’t ever replace Tony, he is a great player,” Maloy said. “But we had guys step up and fill his role. Nick Perusek, Aaron Endrizal and Mark Steinmetz, they all stepped up and did really well tonight.
Though he only carried the ball 10 times, Eagles sophomore running back Nick Perusek left his mark on the field, tallying 42 yards and two secondhalf rushing touchdowns, which gave the Eagles a 2110 lead.
After being out for five weeks with a fractured hip, Perusek was grateful to be on the field, helping his team any which we he could.
“I just paid attention a lot during practice. A lot of it tonight was the lineman, they did a really good job blocking,” Perusek said.
Coach Elder was thankful to have Perusek returning to his backfield.
“Yeah, he was coming back this week, and Tony got sick, so obviously that was a welcome addition,” Elder said.
As Avon’s defense continued to stymie the Hornets (9-3), the Eagles’ offense spread the wealth, as Endrizal had 13 carries for 53 yards.
Eagles versatile junior Mark Steinmetz finished with four carries for 16 yards and one touchdown.
With its ground-andpound style starting to wear down its opponent, the Eagles seemed to grow more confident as the night went on.
“We came out of the half and were just pumped up and ready to go. We came back strong!” Perusek said.
After two hard-fought victories in the playoffs, the Eagles will be in for another tough task as they turn their sights to the rough and physical Olmsted Falls Bulldogs, who upset No. 2 seed Wadsworth, 21-20, on Nov. 10.
Though it will be hyped up as an all-SWC regional final, Coach Elder and the Eagles are enjoying the ride.
“We honestly look at it as another week together. Coaching this group of kids, I think every year you fall in love with the team you’re coaching. This group is special, we have been through a lot,” Elder said.