The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
QB Pappas spearheads second-half rally
All season long, Niko Pappas has been a difference maker for Avon.
That was no different Nov. 13 in the Eagles’ 28-14 Division II state semifinal loss Akron Hoban at Byers Field in Parma.
Avon found itself trailing, 14- 0, at halftime before embarking on a second-half rally.
The Eagles quarterback spearheaded the comeback effort as the senior showed once again why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the area.
Halfway through the third quarter, Avon’s defense stepped up in a big way. On fourth down, Hoban’s quarterback corralled a bad snap and was sacked by the Eagles to force a turnover on downs at the Knights’ 49-yard line.
Avon took full advantage on its ensuing offensive possession as Pappas picked up 28 yards on a run to take the Eagles down to the Hoban 11. A few plays later, Pappas hit receiver Tim Conwell on an 8-yard touchdown pass to pull the Eagles within one score at 14-7.
“They were in inside coverage so we ran a fake slant and out,” Pappas said.
“We knew we had outside leverage and I just put it on the outside where only he could get it.”
Pappas didn’t have much running room in the first half, but was able to find his groove in the second half to bring Avon back from a two-score deficit.
“I started going more north and south rather than out and around because they are pretty fast guys and we had to get downhill,” Pappas said.
After a Hoban punt with under two minutes left in the third quarter, Pappas was at it again. This time, he used his arm in addition to his legs.
The senior engineered an 11-play, 89-yard drive to erase Avon’s deficit completely and tie the game at 14.
The QB made several big plays on the drive, including a 22-yard run. However, none were bigger than when Pappas hit receiver Ryan Ptacek on a 17-yardpass play that moved Avon down to the 2.
From there, Pappas capped off the drive with a
walk-in, 2-yard TD run on a read option play that fooled the defense into thinking Pappas handed the ball off to running back Devon Hunter.
Avon showed a lot of fight in the second half and despite being down by two scores at halftime to the top ranked team in Division II, they didn’t back down and kept battling.
“We had been down at times before and we knew that we could bring it back,” said Pappas, who was 14 of 26 passing for 144 yards and a touchdown pass.
“We tied it up but they are a hell of a good football team. We had to give it our all, empty our tanks and we did tonight. I love (my teammates). It shows we have a lot of heart, a lot of
effort and a lot of work put into this. We weren’t ready to give anything up.”
Unfortunately for Avon, Hoban closed out the game with a pair of fourth-quarter scores to punch its ticket to the state final game with a 28-14 win.
Avon coach Mike Elder had nothing but good things to say about his quarterback following the game.
“He’s a great player,” Elder said. “Niko Pappas is one of the best high school football players I’ve been around. He’s very athletic and out on the field of tremendous athletes, he was able to stand out again. He made some plays with his feet that bailed us out and led us to be able to tie the game.”