The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Eagles exact a bit of revenge
Avon gets back at Avon Lake for loss in postseason last year
In the annual battle for the Silver Rail trophy, Avon pounded rival Avon Lake, 31-6, Sept. 8 at Joe Firment Stadium in Avon.
The Eagles have waited since Nov. 4, 2016 — 309 days — to exact revenge on Avon Lake after the Shoremen pulled off an upset in the first round of last season’s playoffs, stunning then-No. 1 seed Avon.
“It feels awesome,” senior David Orlando said. “We waited 309 days for this. It was a team effort and we came out, the whole offseason it was, ‘Beat Lake, beat Lake, beat Lake,’ and you know what, we came out and did it and it was a team win, offensively and defensively.
“We just wanted to pound it down (Avon Lake) and we did. We did. We came out here and we showed them what we wanted to show them last year. We came out and we did it. We got the win.”
It was truly a well-rounded performance from Avon (3-0), which finished with 361 yards on offense while holding Avon Lake to 184.
Orlando had two carries for 34 yards and a touchdown, five
catches for 54 yards and a 35-yard field goal in the second quarter.
“He had a tremendous game last week against Olmsted Falls and did it again tonight,” Avon coach Mike Elder said. “He’s a special young man. He plays really well on defense, he’s a lockdown corner. On offense, he’s a big play weapon and then he kicks the ball for us and did a great job with that tonight. He’s a triple threat. He was on our team last year and was a good player for us, but now he’s become an All-Ohio type player.”
Avon jumped out to a 7-0 lead, forcing a Shoremen three-and-out on their first possession and using three plays to go 30 yards before Tony Eberhardt’s sevenyard touchdown.
The Shoremen responded with a 10-yard touchdown from quarterback Jack Mikolich on the next drive, but after the extra point was blocked, Avon Lake could not find the end zone the rest of the game.
“(Avon) executed on all cylinders,” Avon Lake coach Matt Kostelnik said. “They fought hard and, simply enough, they executed plays. They do what they do and we’ve got to respond.
“We get that score, we’re feeling good (and) I just told the guys, ‘You’re feeling good, you’ve got to keep them pinned back there.’ ”
To add to Avon Lake’s woes, the Shoremen had nine penalties for 65 yards. including a roughing the kicker call on fourth down to give Avon new life midway through the fourth quarter.
“We’ve got to clean those up,” Kostelnik said of the penalties. “I told the kids we’ll see what kind of character, what kind of team we are on Monday.
“We can’t jump offsides then give them a penalty, you know. It’s been where we’re at right now as a team so we have to figure out how to put everything together from start to finish.”
Mikolich was 8-of-20 with 82 yards and an interception and had five carries for five yards and the lone Avon Lake touchdown. Junior Konner Riggs added 89 yards on 17 carries for the Shoremen, who fell to 1-2 on the season and host Westlake Sept. 15.
Junior Ryan Maloy was 11-of-15 with 120 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while Mark Steinmetz had four carries for 20 yards and a touchdown for Avon.