LORAIN — No one really wanted to talk about the 10 suspended Avon players returning to the field Friday night in the Eagles’ non-conference game against Lorain at George Daniel Field. And some of the players who made their 2012 debuts did very well.
But one thing is for certain: If the Eagles continue to play as well as they did Friday night, chances are good they will be play some meaningful games in November and December.
Avon scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and rolled up 465 yards of offense en route to a 40-14 victory over the Titans.
Avon goes into West Shore Conference play at 2-1, while Lorain enters Lake Erie League play 0-3.
Led by Ross Douglas’ 107 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns, the Eagles rushed for 220 yards on 43 attempts. Senior quarterback David Zeh helped the Eagles gain 245 yards through the air, accounting for 217 with two first-half touchdown passes. He added a rushing touchdown.
“That’s one thing we strive for is a balanced offense,” Avon coach Mike Elder said. “We feel like the offensive line is the strength of our football team. So, for us, if we get that group playing well, it makes throwing the football that much easier. And that was the case today.
“David Zeh’s going to be a really good quarterback. He can run it. He can throw it. As he gets more game experience, we’re excited about where we can go with him as our leader.”
The Eagles opened a 28-0 halftime lead and came 6 yards and a few seconds short of making it a 35-0 game. Zeh was sacked on third-and-goal from the 6 after a furious drive in the final 1:35.
“We don’t like teams to know what’s coming,” said Zeh, who completed 16 of 22 passes for 217 yards, including nine completions in a row during the
21-point second-quarter surge. “We like to mix it up. They had no clue how to scout us because we played two totally different football games. We have that kind of depth to where we can play either game — we can run the ball or we can pass the ball. We can do whatever we’ve got to do. We can play fast or we can play slow.”
Douglas, who was making his 2012 debut, added to an
11-carry, 91-yard first half with a 7-yard touchdown run with 5:25 remaining to make it 21-0. He added a 1-yard touchdown plunge midway through the third quarter.
SPECIAL SPECIALISTS: Avon doesn’t just have good skill players. What makes it dangerous is that it has a great kicker and punter as well. Sophomore Eric Sumislawski was 5-for-5 in extra points and booted a 34-yard field goal with plenty of distance. He added two touchbacks on kickoffs. Junior punter Logan Juhl overcame a snap over his head to get off a punt that was downed on the Lorain 16, then added a coffin-corner punt that went out of bounds on the 1 and set up a safety on the next play.
Contact Dan Gilles at 329-7135 or dangilles73@gmail.com.