Avon QB Connor Lavore (9, right) ran for 100 yards, a touchdown and a successful two-point converston to help the Falcons get past Lewis Mills, 26-25. More game photos
BURLINGTON, Nov. 22, 2022 – It was the kind of game that rivalries are built upon.
Lewis Mills, a team that had lost eight straight games, erased a 12-point deficit and had the ball with a 3:43 remaining in the fourth quarter and a six-point lead over Avon.
On the other side of the field, Avon was struggling to operate their single-wing offense on a slippery, frost-covered, grass field against emotionally-charged Mills defenders.
But the Falcons leaned on their defense. Connor Lavore forced a fumble that teammate Andrew Sielski recovered with 2:48 remaining to give Avon one last chance. Three plays later, it was Cole Milardo with a seven-yard touchdown run with 1:26 remaining to pull the Falcons within one point.
Despite failing on three previous attempts to push in a two-point conversion, the Falcons lined up for a two-point try and Lavore drove his way into the end zone to help lift Avon to a 26-24 victory over Lewis Mills on Thursday night in a Central Connecticut Conference game.
Lavore didn’t celebrate his game-winning two-point conversion. He sat in the end zone as his teammates celebrated around him. He was exhausted on this cold, 34-degree evening.
“They left everything out there on that play,” Avon High coach Brendan Smith said.
After Avon scored to pull within a point, Smith asked Lavore and Milardo if they wanted to kick an extra point and tie the game or go for the win. “They said let’s go for the win,” Smith said.
Avon had leads of 12-0 and 18-6 in the first half only to see Mills battle back to take a 19-18 lead on a 30-yard touchdown run from Jack Stanislaw and an extra point from Gianluca Dolzadelli with 1:40 left in the second quarter.
Avon (5-5) didn’t look particularly sharp in the second half. They had a tough time snapping the ball, forcing the ball carrier to take a second to grab the ball out of mid-air. That extra second frequently gave the Spartans (1-9) time to collapse on the Falcon runner.
“My idea was to throw everything at them instead of just one defense like other (teams) did,” Mills interim coach Tory Vibert said. “We ran a few different looks and moved around and made sure we confused that offensive line. We know from being a Wing-T team that if you move around at the start of (the quarterback’s) cadence, you can confuse the linemen.”
Mills extended their lead to seven points on Stanislaw’s 11-yard run with 8:30 left in regulation, 25-18. Mills tried to kick the extra point but the snap from center was bobbled and Evan Dougherty tried to run the ball into the end zone. But he was quickly tackled.
Lewis Mills’ Jack Stanislaw (11) ran for a pair of touchdowns Tuesday night in the Spartan’s 26-25 loss to Avon. More game photos
Up to this point, Avon had turned the ball over on downs, fumbled the ball away on an attempted punt and nearly had a punt blocked.
But the Falcons remained calm and drove the ball downfield. On third down and three from the Avon 48-yard line, Nik Meltser ran 32 yards to the Mills 20-yard line. A nine-yard run from Lavore moved to the ball to the 11-yard line.
A holding call moved Avon back 10 yards and two plays later, it was Mills’ Larry Weaver making a two-yard tackle for a loss. On fourth down, Lavore threw an incompletion and Avon turned the ball over on downs with 3:43 remaining.
Mills looked on their way to getting their second win of the season.
But Lavore forced the costly turnover that Sielski recovered on Lewis Mills’ 20-yard line with 2:48 remaining in the game.
“Just fight on every play,” Lavore said. “I was just going for the tackle.”
It was one last chance for the Falcons. “It’s our last drive. We had to give everything and I think we did,” Lavore said. Added Smith, “They knew this was the moment.”
Faith in their system and their teammates helped carry the Falcons in the second half. “You have to believe in the system,” Avon’s Toby Klafter said. “The system has taken us this far. You can’t stop believing in it at the last second.”
Avon’s Cole Milardo scored a pair of touchdowns to lead the Falcons to a 26-25 win over Lewis Mills on Tuesday night in Burlington. More game photos
Avon took a quick 12-0 with two touchdowns in a span of 22 seconds in the first quarter. Milardo scored on a 43-yard run but the conversion run failed. When Mills got the ball, it was Lavore with a 42-yard interception return of an errant pass from Weaver for a 12-0 lead when another conversion run failed.
Evan Pannuto scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Weaver, cutting the Falcon lead to 12-6. Avon extended their lead to 18-6 with 1:47 left in the first quarter on a 58-yard run from Mason Eckerlin. Again, the two-point conversion run failed.
A 66-yard touchdown reception from Trey Gagne from Weaver for the final play of the first quarter cut the lead to six, 18-12. Mills took a 19-18 lead at the half on a 30-yard run from Jack Stanislaw and an extra point.
Lavore finished with 100-yard rushing and a touchdown on 25 carries. It was his seventh straight game with more than 100 yards rushing this season and his fifth in a row.
Avon earned their first one-point victory since 2005 when the Falcons beat Farmington, 21-20 in the final game of the regular season. Avon’s most recent one-point game came in last year’s Class M quarterfinals when the Falcons were eliminated by Branford, 7-6.
The Avon defense had four sacks led by Christian Wilson with two sacks for 18 yards with Alex Gauthier getting one sack for 12 yards while John Murphy had one sack for 10 yards.
The win keeps Avon’s very small chances alive for a CIAC playoff berth in Class M. The Falcons need help including losses from Hartford Public, Branford and East Lyme on Thursday. Losses by two of the three teams would be helpful to the Falcons. Hartford Public (5-4) is facing Weaver, Branford (4-5) is facing East Haven (2-7) and East Lyme is playing Waterford. Hartford Public and Branford are favored to win.
Avon 26, Lewis Mills 25
At Burlington
Avon (5-5) 18 0 0 8 — 26
Lewis Mills (1-9) 12 7 0 6 — 25
First quarter
A: Cole Milardo 43 run (run fails), 5:25
A: Connor Lavore 42 interception return (run fails), 5:03
LM: Evan Pannuto 18 pass from Larry Weaver (kick fails), 3:11
A: Mason Eckerlin 58 run (run fails), 1:47
LM: Trey Gagne 66 pass from Weaver (run fails), 0:00
Second quarter
LM: Jack Stanislaw 30 run (Gianluca Dolzadelli kick), 1:40
Fourth quarter
LM: Stanislaw 11 run (run fails), 8:30
A: Milardo 7 run (Lavore run), 1:26
Individual leaders
RUSHING: Avon – Cole Milardo 9-62, Connor Lavore 25-100, Nik Meltser 4-32, Mason Eckerlin 2-38, Toby Klafter 2-3; Lewis Mills — Evan Pannuto 1-1, James Roben 3-47, Larry Weaver 8-minus 34, Jack Stanislaw 8-86, Cole Renalter 1-5
PASSING: Avon – Connor Lavore 1-3-0, 5; Lewis Mills – Larry Weaver 5-14-1, 133
RECEIVING: Avon – Andrew Sielski 1-5; Lewis Mills – Evan Pannuto 3-59, James Roben 1-8, Treg Gagner 1-66
SACKS: John Murphy (A) 1-10, Alex Gauthier (A) 1-12, Christian Wilson (A) 2-18; FUMBLE REC: Andrew Sielski (A) 1-0, Jon DeMaio (LM) 1-0; INTERCEPTION: Connor Lavore (A) 1-42
