Avon’s Ian McDonald became the 11th athlete in team history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single season.
The Avon High football team needed helped to make the CIAC Class L playoffs Thursday morning. The Falcons (8-2) needed five games to go their way – they got assistance in three games and Middletown outlasted Avon for the eighth and final spot in the Class L tournament.
Middletown ended up with 1,090 points while Avon was 30 points back with 1,060 points.
Victories by Bacon Academy over RHAM, 48-14, and Bristol Central over Bristol Eastern, 14-4, denied Middletown additional bonus points. A 9-7 victory by Rocky Hill over Cromwell/Portland in the final seconds of their contest gave Avon another 10 bonus points towards its playoff total. The Terriers scored on a safety with 58 seconds remaining to earn the win.
But Farmington rolled over Plainville, 41-6, and South Windsor built up a big lead and beat Rockville, 46-34. Instead of Avon picking 10 points for wins by Rockville and Plainville, it was Middletown picking bonus points.
“It will be disappointing (if we don’t play in the playoffs),” Avon linebacker/running back Teddy Allmendinger said after the Falcons beat Simsbury, 55-26 on Tuesday in the season finale. “But I am proud of the 28 players on our Avon High football team that were able to face adversity, that were able to withstand seven two-way starters getting season-ending injuries, going 8-2, winning (CCC DIv. 3 East) division and winning the Valley Gridiron Classic. It was a great season. Of course, we wanted the playoffs but everything happens for a reason.”
Avon did lose 20 points when the CIAC stripped Berlin of seven victories last week for using four ineligible players. Even with those points, Avon still would have been 10 points shy of the Dragons, who played a stronger schedule this season than the Falcons.
If Avon could have beaten East Catholic in week two, the Falcons could have qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2012 with a 9-1 record. East Catholic beat the Falcons, 22-20 in September.
“I don’t consider it a failure (missing the playoffs),” Avon coach Jim Caouette said. “We had tremendous success despite many injuries and illness. It would have been nice but so be it. We still had a great season.”
Avon won at least eight games for the sixth time in the last eight years and for the second time in Caouette’s three seasons.
It was another near miss for the Falcons, who last played in the CIAC tournament in 2012. They also played in 2008 and 2009.
In 2010, Avon was 8-2 and ranked tenth. A stinging 7-0 loss to Gilbert/Northwestern in the final game of the regular season helped keep the Falcons home. In 2007, Avon went 9-1 but missed the playoffs. The Falcons were ranked sixth that season but only four teams were invited to the playoffs.
In 1989, Avon was 8-2 and missed the playoffs with a No. 3 seed. Prior to 1995, only the first two teams were invited. In 1983, Avon went 9-1 and was seeded fourth. Avon was undefeated before losing to Farmington, 27-0 in the final game of the season. In 1980, The Falcons were 9-1 and again seeded fourth with a 16-6 loss to Berlin in October keeping them out of the championship game.
The stripping of wins from Berlin by the CIAC did impact Rocky Hill (8-2). The Terriers, who lost to Avon 27-0 on opening day, lost 10 bonus points due to the decision and that cost them in the Class S playoff rankings. Rocky Hill finished ninth with average of 116 points while Capital Prep/Achievement First finished eighth with an average of 116.67 points. If Rocky Hill had those 10 additional bonus points, their average would have been 117.
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