H.S. Football: Avon's defense delivers in impressive win over St. Ignatius at Cleveland Browns Stadium

CLEVELAND — Avon's defense threw the hammer down when it was needed most. The Eagles were a stone wall in the first quarter and came up with a huge stop on fourth down in the third as they marched past St. Ignatius 42-21 in the season opener at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Friday evening. Avon had control for most of the game, but St. Ignatius had a chance to make things interesting in the third quarter when it drove to the Avon 40-yard line down 28-14. Facing a fourth-and-7, linebacker Ryan Stolarski sacked Daniel Chalhoub for a 17-yard loss. The Eagles scored on their next possession and never looked back. "Fourth down, sending the full-house blitz and got the sack," Stolarski said. "That was a big play that changed the momentum of the game because we went down and scored. We had sound assignment and strong pursuit of the ball. It felt great to play in Browns Stadium. It was a crazy environment, I loved every second of it. I'm going to remember this game for the rest of my life." Avon raced out to a 21-0 lead thanks to some smothering defense that held St. Ignatius to 14 yards on its first three drives. The Eagles, on the other hand, scored on their first three possessions. The defense locked down running back Grant Washington, a Minnesota commit, for just 51 yards while limiting Ohio State commit Cody Haddad to two catches for minus-5 yards. Quarterback Nolan Good looked great in his first football game since breaking his left collarbone in the regional semifinal against Olmsted Falls, though he did play the second half of Avon's basketball season. He threw for 204 yards and a touchdown while running for 63 more and another touchdown, but had high praise for his defense. "We knew coming into this one that our front seven could go up against anyone in Ohio," Good said. "We were joking at halftime, like give us a break, we're out there for a 10-minute drive and then three-and-out we're back out there. But I love the energy this team brings." Running back Cam Wendell ignited the Avon crowd on its second offensive play and scored the season's first touchdown four plays later from 3 yards. Avon's next drive was 13 plays with running back Tyler Kaufmann carrying the ball five times for 12 yards before Good found tight end Ty Beerbohm in the back of the end zone from 14 yards to make it 14-0. After another three-and-out for Ignatius, Avon marched down the field thanks to a 36-yard run by Good and three straight carries from Quiante Smith, the third a 2-yard touchdown. "It was awesome," Wendell said of his touchdown. "It's just electric out here in Browns Stadium. It's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I'm glad my team came out with a win because that's what I was hoping for." St. Ignatius adjusted on its fourth drive with Chalhoub making three straight big plays. He scrambled for a 3-yard fourth-down conversion — one that Avon took exception with the spot — he followed that with a nice play-action bootleg to Gavin Vollmer for 11 yards, then hit Luke Simms with a perfect deep ball that split two defenders for a 34-yard touchdown, cutting Avon's lead to 21-7. The teams kept trading touchdowns save for one time, when St. Ignatius forced an Avon punt with 5:36 left in the third quarter. But the defense stepped up, and the Eagles kept the Wildcats at a three-score distance for the duration of the game. "I thought our offensive line and our tight ends did a great job blocking edges and we were more physical up front in the run game," Avon coach Mike Elder said. "We were able to run the ball up front and they weren't and that was the difference in the game." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.