OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio — The defending state champions did not ease into the regional final. They detonated their way there. Third-seeded Avon routed second-seeded Olmsted Falls 49-0 on Friday night, November 13, in an OHSAA Division II, Region 6 semifinal, according to Kee On Sports’ game report. The Mansfield News Journal’s statewide scoreboard, The Columbus Dispatch’s scoreboard and High School On SI’s statewide scoreboard all confirmed the 49-0 final.
One-play scoring drives were the theme of Avon’s night: four of the Eagles’ touchdowns came on the first play of a drive, Kee On Sports reported. The first arrived after Avon forced a quick three-and-out to open the game — running back Michael Colburn ran seemingly untouched for 63 yards and a 7-0 lead, according to Kee On Sports.
Cold rain and both defenses then stalled the next four possessions, and the first quarter ended 7-0, Kee On Sports reported. After Olmsted Falls’ fourth punt, Avon found its rhythm: Colburn was joined on the ground by Jariel Fenton, who capped a drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0, according to Kee On Sports.
Olmsted Falls produced its best drive of the night in response. Quarterback Cameron Pesch completed six of his eight passes on the march, including a 26-yard strike to tight end Mason Cerovec, but the drive fizzled out at the Avon 12-yard line on a turnover on downs, Kee On Sports reported. It was the closest the Bulldogs came to scoring all night.
What followed was the sequence that ended the game as a contest. Facing fourth-and-2 from its own 20-yard line, Avon handed the ball to Colburn, who broke free for an 80-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead, Kee On Sports reported. On Avon’s next possession, on the first play of the drive, quarterback Trevor Sykora connected with Fin Jerdonek on a 58-yard touchdown pass, and Avon took a 28-0 lead into halftime, according to Kee On Sports.
The second half was more of the same. Colburn broke free for a 72-yard touchdown to make it 35-0, Sykora found Jerdonek again, this time from 50 yards, to make it 42-0, and Luke Pavey added a late 3-yard touchdown run for the 49-0 final, Kee On Sports reported. Both of Avon’s second-half passing and rushing scores again came on one-play drives.
Colburn’s final line was the night in miniature: eight carries for 246 yards and three touchdowns, Kee On Sports reported — an average of more than 30 yards every time the defending champions handed him the football. Kee On Sports named him its player of the game, noting Avon will need him running just as hard with a state semifinal berth on the line next week.
Avon arrived as the defending Division II state champion, and Friday played like a program defending more than a trophy. The Eagles had beaten Olmsted Falls once already this season — the Bulldogs finished 9-3, with two of their three losses coming against Avon, Kee On Sports reported. A 49-0 shutout of a 9-2 rival, on that rival’s field, in a regional semifinal is as complete a statement as Ohio’s Division II bracket produced on Friday night.
The northeast’s other top-seed shutout Friday came in the same division, as covered in Highland Shuts Out Mayfield 32-0 for Fourth Straight Regional Final Trip. Highland and Avon are on opposite sides of the Division II map, but their semifinals rhymed: a champion-caliber defense allowing nothing, and an offense scoring in bursts too fast for a good team to answer.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the Region 6 final pairing is set, Avon (10-2) against Toledo Central Catholic on Friday, November 20, but the site is not — the OHSAA announces regional-final sites on Sunday, November 15, according to the Canton Repository’s bracket report. Kee On Sports called Central Catholic a familiar opponent for Avon, and the Fighting Irish advanced past Oregon Clay in Friday’s other Region 6 semifinal, according to the Mansfield News Journal’s statewide scoreboard.
The bracket’s other Division II powers kept pace Friday, including the Knights covered in Nordonia Holds Off Walsh Jesuit 23-21 to Reach Regional Final. But no Division II team won its semifinal the way Avon won its: seven touchdowns, four on single plays, and a shutout of a nine-win rival. That is the form of a champion, not a contender.
What happens next: Avon (10-2) faces Toledo Central Catholic in the Division II, Region 6 final on Friday, November 20, at a site the OHSAA announces Sunday, November 15. The winner advances to the state semifinals on November 27, one win from a return trip to Canton.
Photo: SilentMatt Psychedelic, CC BY-SA