Avon forces 8 turnovers, rolls past Yellowjackets, 41-10

AVON, Oct. 13 – The Avon High football team forced seven Gilbert/Northwestern turnovers in the second half and 34 unanswered points to remain undefeated with a decisive 41-10 victory over the Yellowjackets on Saturday. In the second half, Gilbert (2-3) lost three fumbles and threw four interceptions. They had eight turnovers in the game, including four lost fumbles.

Avon QB Noah Hahn escapes from a Coventry tackler earlier this season. On Saturday, he completed four passes including two for TDs in the win over Gilbert/Northwestern.

Avon’s lead at halftime was 7-3 but the turnovers allowed the Falcons (5-0) to break the game open. Avon junior Michael Pinkerton recovered a fumble on the third quarter kickoff, giving the Falcons the ball on the Gilbert 27-yard line. After gaining just five yards on three plays, Avon faced fourth down on its own 22. Moore took the ball to his right and flipped the ball to freshman Ian McDonald on a reverse.

McDonald found a seam, cut back against the grain and scored on a 22-yard run. Mitch Cappello’s extra point extended the lead to 14-3. On its next series, Gilbert fumbled the ball away again and the Falcons made the Yellowjackets pay when Jimmy Murphy ran up the middle on a 26-yard run with 8:44 left in the third quarter for a 21-3 edge.

On its next drive, Gilbert faced a long fourth down but they moved into Avon territory on a 25-yard pass from QB John Lippincott to receiver Tony Ortiz. Gilbert earned another first down but the drive stalled when Lippincott threw the first of his four interceptions. Moore returned the ball 25 yards to the Gilbert 37. A 25-yard pass from Avon QB Noah Hahn to Chris Suttmeier allowed Avon to take a commanding 28-3 lead.

Gilbert turned the ball over on downs on its next drive and then Moore finally broke through. He ran off tackle for 75 yards and a touchdown for a 34-3 lead. Moore finished the game with 203 yards – the fourth time this season he has exceeded 200 yards rushing.

In the fourth quarter, Gilbert lost another fumble on first down with Nick Rowe recovering. The Falcons ran the ball six straight times, finishing with junior Devon Macko scoring from three yards away for a 41-3 lead.

Mitch Gauthier, Moore and Jake Corrigan had interceptions for Avon – all in the second half.

It was a hard-hitting game with no easy gains. Avon took a 7-0 lead on a long 70-yard drive that began with a 25-yard run from Moore. It ended with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Hahn to McDonald. Mitch Cappello hit the extra point and was 5-of-5 on extra point tries.

Stephen Griffin and Jimmy Murphy each sacked Lippincott in the first half and Dan Rodriques made a big tackle for loss in the Gilbert backfield. A pass interference call late in the first half gave Gilbert the ball on Avon’s 11-yard line. But Avon was able to hold off the Yellowjackets and gave up just a field goal with 20 seconds left in the half.

Avon 41, Gilbert/NWR 10
At Avon
Gilbert/NWR (2-3)    0  3    0  7  — 10
Avon (5-0)                0  7  27  7 – 41
Second quarter
A: Ian McDonald 25 pass from Noah Hahn (Mitch Cappello kick)
G: John Ambrozaitis 24 FG, 0:20
Third Quarter
A: McDonald 22 run (Cappello kick)
A: Jimmy Murphy 25 run (Cappello kick), 8:44
A: Chris Suttmeier 23 pass from Hahn (Cappello kick)
A: Colin Moore 75 run (run failed)
Fourth Quarter
A: Devan Macko 3 run (Cappello kick)
G: Ambrozaitis 14 pass from John Lippincott (Ambrozaitis kick)

Individual statistics
RUSHING: Gilbert – Tony Oritz 6-43, John Lippincott 8-1, Matt Nieves 3-11, Aiden Tellier 2-6, Seth Dayton 3-3; Avon – Colin Moore 23-205, Ian McDonald 1-22, Devon Macko 4-6, Mitch Cappello 6-14, Jimmy Murphy 2-30
PASSING: Gilbert – John Lippincott 10-18-4, 121; Avon – Noah Hahn 4-6-0, 54
RECEIVING: Gilbert – John Ambrozaitis 6-91, Tom Casey 2-2, Tony Ortiz 1-19, Ed Vanty 1-9; Avon – Chris Suttmeir 1-23, Ian McDonald 1-25, Justin Reichler 1-5, Moore 1-1
RETURNS: Dylan Marquis (A) 1-25 (kickoff); FUMBLE REC: Mike Pinkerton, Nick Rowe; INTERCEPTIONS: Colin Moore (A) 1-25, Mitch Gauthier (A) 2-0, Jake Corrigan (A) 1-0