Copyright cleveland.com
AVON, Ohio — Avon coach Mike Elder was concerned about his team having last week off due to the new first-round byes implemented for the OHSAA football playoffs. He worried about his players getting rusty and getting away from their normal weekly routines. He hoped it wouldn’t affect his team’s performance Friday night against Southwestern Conference rival Olmsted Falls. Turns out he had nothing to worry about. The Eagles offense erupted for four touchdowns on its first four offensive possessions in the first quarter – three of which were big plays from receivers Grant Barr and Fin Jerdonek – setting the tone for a 46-13 Division II Region 6 second round playoff win at Avon Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet Stadium. “I was rusty, dog-gone it,” Elder said. “I’m not pleased with myself, I was stuttering through some play calls and there’s some things I’ve got to get better at. But my players were not rusty. They were prepared and ready, and I have a great coaching staff. We’re really, really proud of this team right now, and I’m proud to send these seniors out on a winning note at home, and now we get to go on the road — we GET TO go on the road and play Wadsworth. That’s gonna be a lot of fun.” On Avon’s first possession, quarterback Blake Elder was finding Jerdonek, a junior who came in with 27 catches for 450 yards and seven touchdowns, open early and often. On what turned into an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown run from returning senior Quiante’ Smith – who had missed the previous five games with an injury – Jerdonek had three catches for 27 yards on the first three plays from scrimmage. After that touchdown drive, the Eagles offense decided to show off its big-play ability featuring Barr, Elder and Jerdonek. “All week, we put in stuff that allowed us to take shots on them,” Jerdonek said. “The way they played us, we knew their defense and we knew we could take advantage of some shots that were almost planned for us. We took advantage of them and went after them. “The week off helped us get healthier, we got our running backs back, and we felt good and ready to go.” First, Elder dropped back on a second down from his own 37 and found Barr between 2 defenders at the Falls 40. Barr caught it, bounced off a tackle attempt, and had nothing but green turf in front of him. The result was a 63-yard touchdown pass that put the Eagles ahead, 12-0. After another Bulldog punt, Avon only needed one play to increase the lead. Elder pitched to Jerdonek, who came in motion from the home side. Jerdonek never broke stride and raced down the visitors sideline for a 64-yard touchdown run. That made it 20-0 following a successful 2-point conversion. That was Jerdonek’s first carry of the season. “We designed that play this week and practiced it all week, so I knew it was coming,” said Jerdonek, who led all receivers with eight catches for 77 yards. “Coach told me we were calling it, so I went out there, used my speed to get around the edge, had great blocks, hit a cut back and I was gone.” Jerdonek said that it wasn’t necessarily the plan to feature him early on. “It just happens,” he said. “We saw a mismatch right away and we just took advantage of it. Blake did a great job identifying it and he kept giving me opportunities to make plays.” Then, after yet another 3-and-out, Avon had seven plays before going for a deep ball. Following a fourth-and-2 conversion from Smith to the Falls 33, Elder dropped back and saw Barr open in the back of the end zone. Barr made a diving catch in front of the Avon student section and was able to get both feet inbounds for his second score of the night. The score, with 31 seconds remaining in the quarter, made it 26-0, Eagles. Barr finished the half with three catches for 111 yards and two scores. He helped Elder throw for 225 in the first half on 12 of 15 passing. “We had a great game plan and we executed it well,” Barr said. “We get our running backs back, so you have to put more people in the box to account for them. That open things up for the passing game, and we took advantage. We have a lot of playmakers here – Fin’s one of them, and we have more on this roster that would be playmakers on other schools rosters. When you have to guard everyone, it’s hard to guard us 1-on-1 and put people in the box. “I just saw the ball in the air and I knew I had to go get it (on that second TD). That’s my job as a receiver – catch the ball when it’s thrown to me.” Both Jerdonek and Blake Elder believed that all those early throws to him helped open up the two big touchdown receptions from Barr. “Absolutely,” Elder said. “Because of Fin, Grant gets open, and because of Grant, Fin gets open. They are just a dynamic duo and they make my job a lot easier.” Added Jerdonek: “No one forgets about Grant, but drawing attention to me right away may have opened him up for that. He got open and scored twice, and that helped us open things up.” Barr didn’t add another catch the rest of the game, but with the Eagles comfortably leading 32-6 at the half, he turned out to be a glorified decoy the rest of the way. Jerdonek, who had six catches for 56 in the first half, added two more in the second and came 3 yards shy of his first receiving touchdown of the game early in the third. Michael Colburn did the honors two plays later from 2 yards out to make it 43-6 lead and cue the second-half running clock. “It’s not just how they can get open, it’s also how they do after the catch that makes the dangerous,” Blake Elder said. “It’s awesome to set the tone like we did. The plan is to get it to whoever’s open. Fin is an incredible player. He’s just a junior with so much potential. And with Grant being so good, it gives Fin a little more space to do some great things.” Coach Elder was very pleased with his two playmaking receivers. “Both of those guys are studs,” he said. “They’ve got great speed, quickness, tremendous hands. We have wonderful weapons, and Caeden Bennett – our No. 3 receiver – has done a tremendous job as well. “I think that’s the deepest position on our team – our wide receivers. We have a lot of great guys who can make plays there, and they made plays for us tonight.” Elder cited the return of Smith and Cam Wendell to the backfield as a key to the passing game’s success. “We were able to knock some rust off then throughout the week,” he said. “It was nice to have them back, and I’m excited to have them for this playoff run.” Barr admitted the win was bittersweet. “It’s my last game here so it’s a little saddening,” he said. “But, this was a great way to go out. We wanted to take care of business, but we heard they thought they beat themselves last time we played them, so we wanted to come out here and show them that we won the game too.” Barr said he plans on playing at the collegiate level, but hasn’t decided on a school yet, choosing to focus on the season first. Now, the 10-1 Eagles get to face an 11-0 Wadsworth team that’s also coming off a lopsided win Friday night at their place. “We’re the 3-seed, so that is what it is,” Coach Elder said, “We played a very hard schedule, and I took my kids 1,000 miles away from home with an hour bus ride and we lost a game by 3, and as a result we have to go on the road and play Wadsworth. But we’re excited. I promise you, we will be there with bells on.”
