CANTON — In the first meeting between the two schools, Avon looked to make a statement against Canton McKinley from Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Aug. 25.
In a standout showing from the defense in the second half, the Eagles stood firm and Jakorion Caffey punched in two rushing scores to down the Bulldogs in a 28-7 win.
“The story of our game is really our defense,” Avon coach Mike Elder said. “They flew around and did a great job holding down what I think is a good offense.Then on offense it wasn’t pretty, but when we needed to we were able to shorten the game. We need to get better on that side of the ball, I’m not super happy with myself as the playcaller.”
Avon and McKinley both wouldn’t find the end zone on their opening drives, but that would soon change after Avon got the ball back to start their second straight first-quarter possession in Bulldogs’ territory.
Starting from the 47-yard line, Avon drove down the field and converted on three straight fourth down plays. Caffey capped off the 12-play drive with an 11-yard touchdown run up the middle for an early seven-point lead with 3:02 left in the opening quarter.
“It was a very good moment that I won’t take for granted,” Caffey said of playing at the Hall of Fame Stadium and eventually scoring two touchdowns, with the second coming with 1:41 left in the game from five yards out. “We’re definitely excited, but we’re never taking this for (sic). We want to be back here in Week 16 for a state championship and we want to win it. We’re never taking anything for doubt and we’re excited.”
It took a little longer for the Bulldogs to get going, but they got their chance in the second quarter with roughly eight minutes remaining in the opening half.
McKinley quarterback Keaton Rode worked efficiently with his arm and legs. He converted a second-and-short with an eight-yard keeper. On top of that rush, a late hit on the same play drew a 15-yard penalty flag to put the Bulldogs on the cusp of the red zone.
Five plays later, Nino Hill punched it in from two yards out on second-and-goal to tie the game up with a successful point-after attempt, chewing up 4:16 of clock.
The Eagles wouldn’t let that score go unanswered. Marching 69 yards down the field in just over three minutes, Avon signal caller Nolan Good found Cole Kepner for a 26-yard touchdown reception against man coverage following a holding call on the previous play. With the successful point after, Avon took a 14-7 lead into the second half, with McKinley set to receive the kickoff following a kneeldown.
It was just Good’s second varsity start and he knew this was a “huge win” for Avon.
“Last week, we were able to roll through Brunswick and we knew it was a big game coming up (tonight),” Good said. “They got some guys on their team that are super athletic, super fast, super big. We knew we had a challenge on our hands the whole week and our defense really stepped up today. That was a win for them, one-hundred percent.”
It was a good offensive first two quarters for Avon as well, which ran 28 plays to 18 plays for McKinley.
The third quarter saw both teams shoot themselves in the foot with penalties. Though one particular sequence changed the course of the game.
After a six yard punt by Avon, McKinley had the ball back at the visitor’s 25 yard line with half of the third quarter remaining. Avon’s defense managed to hold up and force a fourth-and-7 with the Bulldogs going for the first-down conversion.
The play blew up, with Rode pressured and dropping to the ground with a loss of 17 yards and a turnover on downs for the Eagles to get the ball back. After that possession, neither team got close to the red zone the remainder of the quarter.
“That was big,” Elder said. “We talk about stops, I think our defensive guys call them tapouts and that became one of them and it was at a big moment in the game. We were (up) 14-7 and we had a third-and-one with two holding penalties… That could have been a difference maker, but our defense stepped up and again bailed us out.”
That changed in the fourth quarter, as Avon only needed five plays to move 71 yards down the field. The drive was capped by Tyler Kaufmann rumbling to the house for a 29-yard touchdown rumble to make it a two-score game with just over nine minutes remaining, and a 21-7 Eagle lead.
The Bulldogs couldn’t get much else going, and Caffey knows that the test against Ted Ginn Sr.’s Glenville Tarblooders will be even tougher in a week’s time.
“We definitely have to prepare more and get the running game started early,” the senior Cincinnatti commitment said. “We know the Tarblooders are a tough team, they obviously beat us last year. We’re definitely excited to play them and we can’t wait.”
