It came down to Week 7. After Sept. 30, only one team could be at the top of the Southwestern Conference between the defending 2021 conference co-champs.
At Charles A. Harding Memorial Stadium in Olmsted Falls, Avon showed why it is the six-time defending conference champion with a 63-42 win over the Bulldogs, to take first place in the SWC.
After trading touchdowns in the first quarter, Olmsted Falls punched in a 21-yard touchdown to lead, 14-7, in the second.
Avon answered by scoring 21 unanswered points.
“I think that (21-0 run) sealed the deal. I think that it put the momentum on our sideline and I think we rolled with that [lead the entire game],” said Sam DeTillio, Avon’s quarterback.
DeTillio threw three touchdown passes in the first half. He connected with wide receiver Ethan Holbrook on the opening touchdown.
The second was brought in with one hand down the seam with a Bulldogs defender trailing him to take the lead at 21-14.
DeTillio finished the first half with 9-of-13 completions for 199 passing yards and three touchdowns.
“We pride ourselves on being balanced. That doesn’t mean 50 percent run and 50 percent pass… It means to be able to do both when called upon, Today, we needed to do both,” said Elder. “Against (Olmsted Falls). If you can’t throw, they will stack everybody in the box and they are capable of stopping it. When they did that, we threw the ball to the outside, because we have playmakers out there.”
Avon benefited from big gains by their offense, including running back Jakorion Caffey and Drew Lindsay, that pushed their offense deeper into Bulldogs’ territory.
Caffey scored on a 1-yard touchdown run before halftime. Running back Gavin Ehrhardt scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass.
DeTillio finished with 370 passing yards and six touchdowns. Holbrook had five touchdown receptions for 208 yards.
“We were able to open the pass, the (offensive line) was able to block great. I was able to get open and get some touchdowns,” said Holbrook, “Sam (DeTillio) was throwing the ball really well, which opened it up for (Caffey)… Everything was clicking tonight.”
Olmsted Falls didn’t go down without a fight, numerous touchdowns from their offense kept them in the game, but the Eagles offense couldn’t be stopped.
“We didn’t want to quit. We wanted to keep fighting no matter what and I think they did that. They played their hearts out,” said Tom DeLuca, Olmsted Falls’ coach. “Obviously executionwise, we have to get a lot better on defense. (Avon) exposed us in some areas tonight. They had a great night throwing the ball on us.”
Caffey rushed for 279 yards on the night with big touchdown runs to seal the win.
“I felt that I needed to run a little harder than I was [in the first half]. I didn’t want this game to slip away. I going to give it 100 percent every carry I get,” said Caffey, describing his second half.
Avon improved to 6-1 and is the only SWC team with an undefeated 4-0 conference record. The Eagles are on a four-game winning streak since falling to Glenville in Week 3.
The loss ended the Bulldogs’ five-game winning streak as they dropped to 5-2, 3-1 in the conference.
Avon and Olmsted Falls will continue their SWC schedule at home on Oct. 7. The Eagles will host Berea-Midpark and the Bulldogs will play Amherst.
![By TOM WITHERS Connor Wong homered twice, Rafael Devers connected in his return to Boston’s lineup and the banged-up Red Sox got another solid pitching effort in an 8-0 win over the Guardians on Wednesday night. Wong hit leadoff homers in the second and sixth innings off Carlos Carrasco (1-2). He added an RBI single in the ninth and had four hits. Devers missed the previous five games with a bone bruise in his knee. After testing his knee by scoring on a double in the first, he homered in the fifth and the Red Sox piled up a season-high […]](https://www.morningjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TNH-L-BBA-Guardians-0424-01.jpg?w=525 "By TOM WITHERS Connor Wong homered twice, Rafael Devers connected in his return to Boston’s lineup and the banged-up Red Sox got another solid pitching effort in an 8-0 win over the Guardians on Wednesday night. Wong hit leadoff homers in the second and sixth innings off Carlos Carrasco (1-2). He added an RBI single in the ninth and had four hits. Devers missed the previous five games with a bone bruise in his knee. After testing his knee by scoring on a double in the first, he homered in the fifth and the Red Sox piled up a season-high […]")
