A showdown between two Ohio powerhouses took place at Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet Stadium on Sept. 1.
In a battle of Glenville, the defending Division IV state champion and perennial D-II contender Avon, the Eagles ended the Tarblooders’ 17-game winning streak with a 24-16 win.
Avon had the lead for almost the entire game. Glenville forced a fumble and drove 94 yards down the field in two plays to score a touchdown. Ohio State commit Damarion Whiten broke multiple tackles to score on a 32-yard touchdown pass to lead, 16-14, in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles’ offense answered with a 26-yard field goal from kicker Owen Warrick.
Warrick answered the call one more time on the ensuing kickoff to recover an onside kick. The recovery resulted in an 18-yard touchdown pass to Paul Leftrict to retake the lead.
“As soon as they said ‘onside kick,’ I got really excited. I was a little nervous, but I was really excited. The blocking was amazing, and I got my own kick,” Warrick said.
Early turnovers plagued both teams on their first two drives, but Eagles quarterback Nolan Good found the end zone twice to build a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.
Untimely penalties hurt Avon on big gains. One of which was a 19-yard touchdown run from Jakorion Caffey. However, he caught an 11-yard touchdown pass to put the first points on the board.
Good utilized his dual-threat quarterback abilities to keep plays alive, which picked up yardage on a 10-play, 77-yard drive that resulted in a back of the end zone catch from wide receiver Cole Kepner.
Good, a first-year quarterback who played defense in Avon’s loss to Glenville last year, threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns.
“I had a rough week in practice,” Good said. “I did not do as well as I wanted to do. … I told myself who am I going to be as a player. I realized that the only thing stopping me is me and I am not going to shut myself down just because I threw one bad ball.”
Glenville was limited offensively throughout the first half, but it responded with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Townsend on a slant. Avon led, 14-7, at halftime.
“I am going to remain cautiously optimistic (about our defense), but we have one returning starter coming back on defense this year, and those dudes played lights out all season long. I think I have a pretty good defense here in Avon,” Avon coach Mike Elder said.
Avon remained undefeated, with a 3-0 record, as it will begin its eighth consecutive Southwestern Conference title defense next week against Elyria on Sept. 8.
Avon took a 2-1 lead on the yearly series the Eagles and Tarblooders started at the 2021 season.
Glenville (2-1) dropped its first game since the 42-38 D-IV, Region 13 regional semifinal loss in 2021 to Ursuline.
Glenville will start its Senate League schedule, as it hosts John Adams on Sept. 8 and will travel to play nationally ranked IMG Academy the following week.
THE SCORE
Avon 24, Glenville 16
