The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
HIGH SCHOOL SCORES >> MORE HIGHLIGHTS IN SPORTS,
Avon advances to regional final, will face Toledo CC
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
• Avon 35, Anthony Wayne 28 • Toledo CC 56, Avon Lake 16 • Norwalk 56, Rocky River 7
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER
Division II state championship • Cincinnati Indian Hill 1, Bay 0
CLYDE >> Avon faced all kinds of adversity in a Division II, Region 6 semifinal game against Whitehouse Anthony Wayne — brutal winds, snow flurries and, most of all, an injury to its starting running back — but never let the goal out of sight.
The Eagles trailed, 28-14, late in the third quarter when senior Ryan Maloy put the team on his back, and Avon (11-1) scored 21 unanswered points to beat the Generals, 35-28, to advance to the regional final where it will face No. 1 seed Toledo Central Catholic.
“I said that I’ve been part of a lot of special wins at Avon, but this one will rank right up there,” Avon coach Mike Elder said. “Our kids are so conditioned to keep playing regardless of the circumstance and we talk all the time about how when adversity hits, that’s when real leaders step up.
“You’re down, 28-14, going into the wind...and Ryan Maloy just looked his offensive line in the eye and said, ‘Let’s go.’ These kids followed him, and we lost one of our best players...all the things involved and associated with that, for us to come back and win this football game, it wasn’t pretty at times, that’s for sure, and we didn’t play our best football game, but what a gutsy performance.”
Maloy cut the Anthony Wayne lead to a single score on a six-yard run with 1:20 remaining the third quarter, and after a disappointing drive that ended in a turnover on downs deep in Generals territory, the senior once again led his team down the field and capped an eight-play, 60-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown run to tie the game with less than five minutes to play in regulation.
The Eagles defense forced another critical three-and-out, sacking Anthony Wayne quarterback Max Denman on third and short, and ran their way to a win when Mark Steinmetz broke off for a 51yard touchdown run with 1:35 on the clock.
The ability to maintain a strong presence on the ground was key for Avon after losing starter Nick Perusek to an injury early in the third quarter. Perusek exited the game with 17 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown, but Maloy and Steinmetz picked up right where the junior left off.
“Nick’s an amazing player, but that just shows how powerful and dominant our O-line is up front because if an all-district, all-conference running back goes down, the ability to run the ball is huge because you can’t just turn into a one-dimensional team,” Maloy said.
As Anthony Wayne drove down the field in the waning seconds, the Eagles’ defense stayed true, and on the final play of the game, it was none other than Maloy who found himself in the right place and the right time, breaking up Denman’s pass at the goal line as time expired.
“It was just relieving,” Maloy said of the play. “They’re on the 15-ish yard line, you don’t know if they’re, you just don’t know (what’s going to happen). To be in the position to make the play, to win the game for our team on that particular pass, it means everything.”
Maloy finished with 270 of Avon’s 528 total yards including three touchdowns on the ground, and completed 10 of 23 passes.
The Eagles shut down the Anthony Wayne run and forced Denman to air it out all night.
The Generals found success in the passing game as Denman was 22 of 36 with 290 yards and a touchdown, but the defense pressured the senior all night.
Jacob Neumeyer added eight carries for 27 yards and two touchdowns for Anthony Wayne (11-1).
“That was an insane game,” Maloy said. “That was such a hard-fought game on both ends of the field and that just says something about the brotherhood, the chemistry with the guys on this team. Every single guy on the roster would do anything to win a football game and I think that was proven tonight on the field.”