AVON, Ohio – No. 1 Avon avoided an early scare, beating No. 8 Olmsted Falls 52-35 in Friday night’s OHSAA Division II, Region 6 quarterfinal.
Avon will advance to play No. 5 Wadsworth, which defeated No. 4 North Ridgeville 21-10 on Friday.
The story of the game was the Eagles' ability to dig themselves out of an early hole, as Olmsted Falls came out of the gates on fire, leading 21-7 after the first quarter. It was reminiscent of last year’s playoff game between these two teams, where the Bulldogs led the Eagles at halftime, only to fall 10 points short at the end. However, in this game, Avon’s offense, led by quarterback Nolan Good, was able to find its rhythm in the second quarter, and scored five straight touchdowns to advance the Eagles.
“I told my guys before the game, you have to be uncomfortable being uncomfortable in games,” Avon head coach Mike Elder said after the game. “You’re down 21-7 in a playoff game, in a game that everybody expects you to win. The weight of the world is on this team all the time.
“People just think you simply show up and win. You don’t, not against great teams like that. Coach Deluca does a great job.
This game was everything I expected it to be.” The two crucial pieces to the Eagles’ comeback was Good’s stellar connection with receiver Matt Maxey and their two-headed backfield. Good struggled early to find anyone at all, but quickly started hyper-targeting Maxey, who has been his go-to receiver all season long.
Maxe.