Avon Routs Rhodes 38-8 Behind Three Sykora TD Passes to Open Playoffs

The two-time defending Division II state champions needed exactly one half to announce that their title defense is fully underway. Avon scored on a blocked punt, a short field after a strip sack, a long run, a field goal and two touchdown passes after takeaways to build a 38-0 halftime lead, and the Eagles beat Cleveland Rhodes 38-8 on Friday night in a Division II, Region 6 regional quarterfinal at Avon, according to Kee On Sports Media Group’s on-site game recap. The final was confirmed by scoreboards published by The Columbus Dispatch, the Mansfield News Journal, the Zanesville Times Recorder, High School On SI and MaxPreps.

Avon (9-2), the No. 3 seed, was playing its first game of the 2026 postseason after a first-round bye, and its first-ever score of these playoffs came from special teams: Nick Lombardy blocked a Rhodes punt and Adrian LaBlanca returned it 33 yards for a touchdown, Kee On Sports reported. From there, the Eagles’ defense kept handing its offense short fields, and the offense kept cashing them in.

After an Avon strip sack set the Eagles up at the Rhodes 13, quarterback Trevor Sykora threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Fin Jerdonek, Kee On Sports reported. Michael Colburn then ran 24 yards for a touchdown, Merrick Dunn added a 21-yard field goal after a 36-yard Dean Andress run, and the rout was on. Rhodes’ best first-half drive ended with a Nathan Peters interception at the Avon 10, according to Kee On Sports.

The final two first-half scores both followed Rhodes mistakes, Kee On Sports reported: after Avon recovered a muffed kickoff, Sykora hit Gavin Koehler for a 20-yard touchdown, and after a fumbled handoff, Sykora found Jerdonek again from 18 yards out to make it 38-0 at the break. Sykora finished 5-of-14 for 94 yards and three touchdowns in Kee On Sports’ statistics — a line that captures how little Avon needed from its passing game once the takeaways piled up.

Rhodes (7-5), the No. 11 seed, avoided the shutout in the fourth quarter. After Niyovyose Alphonse intercepted Avon backup Casey Birth, Rhodes quarterback Ty’Ron Corpening broke an 80-yard touchdown run on the next play and the Rams added the two-point conversion for the 38-8 final, Kee On Sports reported. Corpening carried eight times for 142 yards in the loss.

Avon’s championship pedigree frames everything about this run. On3 reported in August that the Eagles entered this season coming off their second straight Division II state championship — a 37-20 win over Anderson in the 2025 final — and on a 12-game winning streak, with Sykora taking over at quarterback from the graduated Blake Elder. The Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Nov. 1 pairings release had Avon entering Friday at 8-2, rested after the bye while Rhodes had to win its way into the quarterfinal round.

The rest of Friday’s Region 6 bracket broke in ways that sharpen the road ahead. Toledo Central Catholic beat Avon Lake 35-7 and Oregon Clay routed Fremont Ross 33-5, according to the Dispatch and Mansfield scoreboards, while Avon’s semifinal opponent was decided in a conference rematch of its own — Olmsted Falls’ 21-14 win over Findlay. Northeast Ohio’s other powers advanced Friday too, including St. Edward’s 38-19 Holy War win over St. Ignatius and Mentor’s 45-14 revenge rout of Strongsville.

What we know — and what we’re still waiting on

Confirmed: the 38-8 final, Avon’s 38-0 halftime lead, and Friday’s full Region 6 quarterfinal results, verified across five scoreboards and Kee On Sports’ on-site account. Still to be settled: the official site of next week’s semifinal. The OHSAA’s pairings release states the higher seed hosts through the first three rounds, which points to Olmsted Falls, and Kee On Sports’ Olmsted Falls recap described the rematch as a home game for the Bulldogs — but MaxPreps’ schedule lists the game at Avon, so the venue awaits the OHSAA’s official bracket update.

What happens next is a Southwestern Conference rematch with a regional final on the line: Avon meets No. 2 Olmsted Falls on Friday, Nov. 13. Avon won the regular-season meeting 58-33 on Sept. 18, according to MaxPreps’ records of the Bulldogs’ schedule, but Olmsted Falls has home-field credentials, the higher seed, and six weeks of improvement behind it.

Mike Elder’s Eagles, meanwhile, have now won their playoff opener by 30 points while barely needing to throw. The state semifinals are set for Nov. 27 and the finals for Dec. 3-5 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton — the stage where Avon finished each of the last two seasons holding the trophy.

Photo: SilentMatt Psychedelic, CC BY-SA 4.0