Avon does have some players with varsity experience returning

The Avon High football team opens the season Friday night when they host Tolland beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Two years ago, there wasn’t much choice for Avon High football coach Jeff Redman.

With a little under 40 players in the program and just nine seniors, many of the sophomores on that 2019 team got some varsity playing time during a 2-8 season.

No one played a year ago thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic but Redman and the Falcons have a few more players than most teams with some varsity experience. The Falcons have 14 seniors on the team including quarterback Tabor Engle, who was a started two years ago.

Engle completed 63 of 134 passes for 869 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore along with 11 interceptions. Fellow senior receiver Tyler Brokenshire caught eight passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns.

“As long as we can provide Tabor with some help, the team could have a good season,” Redman said. “He definitely has a good skill set to help us be successful.”

Senior running back Cameron Dawiczyk is strong and quick in the backfield while receivers Cameron Casey, Brokenshire and tight end Nils Jerger have looked well in Avon’s preseason scrimmages.

“I think we will be pretty balanced (offensively),” Redman said. “(In the scrimmage), we threw the ball a bit more than we ran but we have some skilled receivers and Tabor can deliver the ball. We have a very, very strong offensive line but they’re small, so we will see.”

Even with no games in 2020, the Falcons continued to work out in the weight room in 2020 led by offensive and defensive lineman Chris Bourquin, a quick lineman who can bench press 250 pounds.

Many players will be playing on both sides of the ball so conditioning will be a factor this season.

“There are a lot of kids who are really helping us out,” Redman said.

The Central Connecticut Conference (CCC) realigned their divisions in football, going from six to four. Avon was placed in Division IV with teams that have been similar in skill level with the Falcons in the last few years.

But Redman isn’t counting any victories yet. “We always have a challenge,” he said. “No matter what game it is on the schedule, it will still be a challenge. We have Bloomfield, Notre Dame-Fairfield and Branford.

“We’re going to have to earn it,” he said. “We are no football powerhouse.”

Bloomfield spent time in the top 10 of the state coaches poll a year ago while Avon gets contests with Southern Connecticut Conference opponents Notre Dame-Fairfield and Branford as part of the Connecticut Football Alliance to provide competitive non-league contests to teams across the state.

Avon will have a new end-of-season rival – Lewis Mills. The Falcons will host the Spartans on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. It should be a much more competitive game than the Valley Gridiron Classic against Simsbury the last three three years.

The Falcons will resume their rivalry against Farmington on Friday, Oct. 29 on the new turf field. The rivalry was put on hold in 2005 when Avon joined the Pequot Conference. And while the two programs have been together in the CCC since 2015, it didn’t work out until this year. The newly-christened River Hawks have been playing Plainville on Thanksgiving morning for several years.

Avon opens up their 61st varsity season on Friday night when they host Tolland beginning at 6:30 p.m., in the first game under permanent lights at the high school. There will be a dedication ceremony for the new lights at halftime.

NOTES: Representatives from the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC), Southwest Conference (SWC), FCIAC and Eastern Connecticut Conference (ECC) are participating in the Connecticut Football Alliance along with the CCC football teams. … The Falcons will be playing Hartford Public and Branford for the first time in the program’s history. It will be the first game against Farmington since 2005 and the first game against Notre Dame-Fairfield since 1995. … Avon opened the season with Tolland once in 1990 and came away with a 36-18 victory.

Avon High
Head coach: Jeff Redman (4th season, 4-16; Career, 10th season, 22-57-1)
Nickname: Falcons
Conference: CCC Division IV
Last season: 2-8, 1-3 CCC Div. 3 East
Last winning season: 8-2 in 2015
Playoff appearances: 3 (0-3)
Last CIAC playoff appearance: 2012
League championships: 16. Most recent title: 2015 CCC Division III East
Opening day record: 30-30. Last win: 2017, Avon 34, East Catholic 0
Social media: Twitter — @AHS_Falcons
Team website: none
Of note: This will be the 61st season of varsity football at Avon High.

Avon 2021 schedule
Friday, Sept. 10: Tolland, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 17: @Rocky Hill, 7 p.m.
Sat. Sept. 25: @Notre Dame-Fairfield, 1 p.m.
Sat. Oct. 2: @N.W. Catholic, 10 a.m.
Friday, Oct. 8: @Bloomfield, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 22: Farmington, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 29: Hartford Public, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 5: Branford, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 12: @East Catholic, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 23: Lewis Mills, 6 p.m.

2021 CCC divisions for football
Division I (8 teams): Conard, East Hartford, Glastonbury, Hall, Maloney, New Britain, Simsbury, Southington
Division II (8 teams): Berlin, Enfield, Manchester, Middletown, Newington, Platt High, Wethersfield, Windsor
Division III (8 teams): Bloomfield, Bristol Central, Bristol Eastern, E.O. Smith, Farmington, Plainville, RHAM, South Windsor
Division IV (7 teams): Avon, East Catholic, Hartford Public, Lewis Mills, NW Catholic, Rocky Hill, Tolland