High School Football: Avon captures second straight state title, caps championship fall for school

CANTON — It's not often a school gets to celebrate a state championship, but it's becoming the norm for Avon. The Eagles won a third title this fall and a second straight Division II football championship with a dominant 37-20 win over previously unbeaten Cincinnati Anderson at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Avon finished the year 14-1. So did Cincinnati Anderson. The Eagles beat the Raptors in the title game last year, too. They followed the volleyball team and the boys soccer team as 2025 fall state champions. They joined the 1983 and '84 Elyria Catholic Panthers as the only schools in Lorain County to win back-to-back football titles. "I could not be more proud of this group of young men," coach Mike Elder said. "They got to write their own unique story. We went down to Florida, took these kids a thousand miles away and an hour and a half bus ride to the game, where it was delayed. We lose a game 25-22 and we weren't sure how this season was going to go." That was Week 2. Things couldn't have gone any better since, topped with the championship against an offensive juggernaut that finished with 376 passing yards. Avon took advantage of an early bad snap to get on top and force the Raptors to play from behind. Talk about balance: Avon had it Thursday, rushing for 217 yards and passing for 216. Quiante' Smith finished with 180 tough yards on the ground, carrying 31 times to help Avon to a better than 10-minute advantage in time of possession (26:51 to 16:14). Blake Elder, the son of Mike, threw four touchdown passes to tie a D-II championship game record, completing 12-of-18 passes for 216 yards. Anderson, on a fourth-and-4 from its 40, lost the possession on downs when the snap sailed over the head of quarterback Owen Scalf to give Avon the ball just 16 yards from the end zone. Smith ran for 2 on the first play and Elder hit Fin Jerdonek from 14 yards on Avon's second play from scrimmage with 7:16 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead after Jensen Petro's point after. Avon and Elder added two more scores — a 22-yard pass to Caden Clapham and a 7-yard toss to Caeden Bennett — to push the lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter. "I can't credit my team enough," Blake Elder said. "They put me in position to make plays, and I was able to take advantage of the opportunities." The Eagles drove 87 and 51 yards, eating a lot of clock and keeping the Raptors offense on the sideline. "Avon is an incredible football team," Anderson coach Evan Dreyer said. "They took advantage of the opportunities. We botched a fourth-down snap early in the game to give them opportunities to score, especially on a short field. We had to play from behind and didn't create any opportunities for ourselves." Anderson got on the board with 5:18 to play in the half to slice the lead to 21-7, but Avon came right back to score with 2:18 left on an Elder-to-Grant Barr pass from 37 yards. Avon led at the half 27-7. The Eagles matched scores in the second half to maintain a big cushion. Smith scored on a 6-yard run and Petro nailed a 30-yard field goal. Defensively, Avon managed to stop Anderson on some big third- and fourth-down plays. The Raptors went 3-for-10 on third down and 1-for-6 on fourth down. "Cincinnati Anderson is a unique offense," Coach Elder said. "They're really talented. They score points in buckets and score them fast. We have the best defensive coordinator in the state of Ohio, Jared Cecchetti. He's also our strength coach and a big reason that we've had the opportunity to win state championships. "I couldn't be more proud of our defense. To hold that team to 20 points was a monumental effort." Contact Tim Gebhardt at sports@medina-gazette.com.