In the steady rain, Plainville has explosive second quarter in 37-0 win over Avon

Plainville’s Pierre Ramirez (43) moves in on Avon QB Jadon Folkwein in Friday night’s CCC Division III contest in Plainville. The Blue Devils prevailed, 37-0.

PLAINVILLE, Nov. 9 – The Avon High football team is no stranger to playing in the rain this season.

Two weeks ago, the Falcons played in a hard, steady rain at Bulkeley in Hartford on a muddy, wet field. On that Saturday afternoon, the Falcons were able to run at will over the co-op squad on the way to a shutout victory.

Avon was back playing in the steady rain again Friday night against Plainville. But this time, it was Plainville with the speed to break some runs on its synthetic turf field and corral the Falcons in a 37-0 CCC Division III contest at Tender Field at Plainville High.

Plainville senior QB Frank Griffin ran for three TDs and 77 yards on 14 carries to lead the Blue Devils (6-3) while teammate Brendan Quilter ran for a game-high 97 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries.

Plainville High coach Tim Shea wasn’t ready to adjust his game plan too much for the rain but the Blue Devils were able to run and score effectively.

“We have an offensive system place and we’re going to do what we’re going to do,” Shea said. “On turf, even in the rain on turf, the offense has an advantage because you know we’re you’re going and when. We would have liked to air it out a little more but we were able to do what we needed to do.”

Plainville is its way to their first winning season since 2015 (6-5) and their best campaign since 2010 when went 8-3 and played in the Class S playoffs. It was just two years ago that Plainville was 0-10.

“The kids have bought in,” he said. “They’re playing very hard and they’ve laid the groundwork for the classes behind them.”

Avon’s Dan Quick ran for a team-high 40-yard — most on the final drive of the game. Plainville shut out Avon for the fifth time this season, 37-0.

Avon High coach Jeff Redman was disappointed that his team got flustered in the second quarter. The Falcons gave up 34 points in the quarter, coughing up the ball on a punt and allowing five scoring drives. Four scoring drives were completed in under 58 seconds.

“There wasn’t a lot of good things,” Redman said. “It was a poor game (for us). We started out well in the first quarter and we cleaned it up well in the second half.”

It was 0-0 after one quarter and the Blue Devils had driven to the Avon seven-yard line only to fail on a fourth down and one play. But the Falcons couldn’t move the ball.

Plainville took over on their own 44-yard line. Griffin completed a 22-yard pass to Christian Collin and Quilter scored on the next play – a 22-yard run on the right side. The two-play drive took just 30 seconds.

Avon’s Owen Folkwein blocked the extra point as Plainville took a 6-0 lead.

The Falcons failed to get a first down on their next possession and the Blue Devils took over on the Avon 44-yard line. After a 34-yard completion from Griffin to Brady Callahan to the Avon 10-yard line and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Falcons, the ball was on the five-yard line. Griffin scored on the next play – the first of his three scores on the day for a 13-0 lead.

Plainville had five drives in the second quarter. Each drive began in Avon territory. The longest was five plays – which lasted 1:38. The other four drives were completed in three plays or less and within a minute.

A one-yard run from Griffin and the extra point extended the Plainville lead to 20-0 with 3:30 remaining. Plainville recovered the kickoff that bounced an odd past an Avon defender. Three plays later, Callahan scored on a 12-yard run for a 27-0 lead.

Plainville added a late touchdown. After an Avon, the Blue Devils took over at the Avon 48-yard line with 30 seconds left. Griffin completed a 46-yard pass to Collin to the two-yard line. Griffin scored two plays later from the two with 10.5 seconds left in the first half and a 34-0 lead.

Avon punter Kevin Mullaj (9) gets his foot on the ball in the rain during Friday night’s loss to Plainville in CCC Division III action.

Avon had a few moments. On a second down and 12 play from the Plainville 18-yard line, Jadon Folkwein got away and scampered off for an 82-yard run that would have scored a touchdown. But it was called back due to a holding penalty.

Quick led Avon with 40 yards on 12 carries but most of it (39 yards) came in the final drive with 3:40 left in the game. Jaron Folkwein ran for 21 hard-fought yards on 14 carries.

Owen Folkwein and Thomas Driggs recovered a pair of fumbles in the game. Folkwein’s fumble recovery early in the third quarter gave the Falcons their best field position of the game – the Plainville High 26-yard line.

Jadon Folkwein gained a first down thanks to a 12-yard run to the Plainville 14-yard line. But the drive stalled and finished when Tim DelGallo was sacked for an eight-yard loss on fourth down with 9:13 left in the third quarter.

Plainville limited Avon to 55 yards total offense (57 yards rushing, minus two yards passing). But the return game was a bright spot. Jadon Folkwein return two kickoffs for 40 yards while Vita Catalano returned a kickoff 17 yards and returned a punt 15 yards. Avon was shutout for the fifth time this season.

The Falcons close out the season on Tuesday, November 20 at Holden Field in Simsbury against the Trojans during the annual Route 44 Classic.

Plainville 37, Avon 0
At Plainville
Plainville (6-3)              0  34  3  0  — 37
Avon (2-7)                     0  0  0  0  — 0
Second quarter
P: Brendan Quilter 22 run (kick blocked), 9:31
P: Frank Griffin 4 run (Pierre Ramirez kick), 6:59
P: Griffin 1 run (Ramirez kick), 3:30
P: Brady Callahan 12 run (Ramirez kick), 2:27
P: Griffin 2 run (Ramirez kick), 10.5
Third quarter
P: Ramirez 32 FG, 1:57
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Avon – Dan Quick 12-40, Jaden Folkwein 14-25, Vito Catalano 1-6, Tabor Engle 1-minus 8, Tim Del Gallo 2-minus 1, Beau Lasher 1-0, Jason Riback 1-minus 1; Felix Laoz 3-15, Frank Griffin 14-77, Brendan Quilter 18-97, Brady Callahan 2-16, Christian Collin 1-16
PASSING: Avon – Jadon Folkwein 1-2-0, minus 2
RECEIVING: Avon – Aaron Baldauf 1-minus 2; Dominick Chambello 1-6, Brady Callahan 3-51, Christian Collin 2-68, Dylan Hall 1-13
RETURNS: Catalano (A) 1-16 (kickoff), 1-15 (punt); Jadon Folkwein (A) 2-40 (kickoff); FUMBLE RECOVERY: Thomas Driggs (A) 1-0, Owen Folkwein (A) 1-0; Jason Mills (P) 1-0, Jason Ribeck (P) 1-6