Avon’s Carter Davies (6) ran for 36 yards on five carries in Thursday night’s loss to South Windsor. More game photos
AVON, Nov. 2, 2023 – A week ago, the Avon High football team was full of confidence coming off a six-point win over rival Farmington that included a 22-play, 99-yard drive that ate more than one full quarter.
Perhaps, it was too much confidence.
The Falcons scored the first touchdown of the game last week against Rocky Hill but then gave up 28 unanswered points in a 27-point defeat.
On Thursday night, the Falcons were shutout for the second time this year by a South Windsor team that is in the hunt for a CIAC Class L playoff berth. The visiting Bobcats beat Avon, 22-0 in the first-ever meeting on the gridiron between the two schools.
“There was a huge, huge difference between this week and last week,” Avon head coach Brendan Smith said. “Last week, we definitely fell into the trap. We had that big emotional win against Farmington and it is really hard to come off that and refocus (on another team).
“We probably got a little ahead of ourselves in terms of where we are as a team and we can do (on the field),” Smith said.
Against South Windsor, the Falcons had their moments. They played solid defense and it was a 14-point ballgame until the fourth quarter.
“This week we did a lot of good things,” Smith said. “All the credit in the world to that team. They have great players and they are in the playoff hunt because of it. We just didn’t finish today. The defense had a few mistakes but overall, we played great and we certainly had them on their heels.”
Those few lapses were enough for the Bobcats to win for the sixth time in eight games.
It took South Windsor (6-2, 5-1 CCC Tier III) just three plays to take an early 6-0 lead. On their first play of the game, Joey Bemis had a 33-yard pass completion from QB Mitch Chaves. Logan Sherwood ran up the middle for 19 yards to the Avon 10-yard line and Chaves scored on a 10-yard run around the end for a 6-0 lead.
When Avon (2-6, 1-5 CCC Tier III) fumbled the ball away on their own 30-yard line late in the first quarter, the Bobcats recovered on the Falcon 20. On the second play from scrimmage, it was Ethan Buke with an 18-yard run around the left side and into the end zone. Sherwood’s two-point conversion run gave South Windsor a 14-0 lead with 4:22 left in the first quarter.
“We have a good group of kids who play hard,” South Windsor coach Dave Hodges said. “We are able to run the ball a bit and we can throw the ball a bit. We do a bit of everything.”
Avon’s Ethan Lavore (31) chases down South Windsor QB Mitch Chaves during Thursday night’s loss in Avon. More game photos
Early in the second quarter, it looked like Avon would tighten up the contest by driving to the Bobcat 10-yard line with its longest sustained drive of the game.
John Murphy had a first down run on a fourth down-and-two play to keep the drive alive and Carter Davies ripped off a 26-yard run down the far sideline to put the Falcons in the red zone (inside the 20-yard line).
Nik Meltser gained five yards to give the Falcons the ball on their own 10. But after an incomplete pass with QB David Minami nearly sacked and Murphy getting stopped for a three-yard loss, Avon faced a fourth down and eight on their own 13-yard line. Murphy gained four yards and Avon had to turn the ball over on downs.
That would be the closest Avon would come to scoring on a chilly 39-degree evening.
“We just didn’t finish today,” Smith said.
“Avon is a good football team,” Hodges said. “I think I saw 12 kids on the (Avon) sideline hurt. I know in high school football that if you have two or three injuries to your better players, it can be a long season.”
In the third quarter, it looked Avon had some momentum. On South Windsor’s first two drives of the second half, the Bobcats had minus two yards and two incomplete passes. But Avon couldn’t get anything going offensively.
Chaves returned an interception 14 yards to the Avon 35-yard line. Five plays later, it was Sherwood with a 14-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion to boost the lead to 22-0. Sherwood led all rushers in the game with 88 yards on seven carries.
Meltser led the Falcons with 55 yards on 13 carries. Davids had 36 yards on five carries while Murphy had 29 yards on 10 carries. Andrew Sielski and Michael Prisco teamed up on an eight-yard sack in the first half while Alex DeRoy recovered a fumble for the Falcons.
South Windsor is ranked No. 7 in Class L with the top eight teams earning a state tournament berth. The Bobcats are second in CCC Tier III behind Platt (6-0 CCC Tier 3). South Windsor drove to the Platt one-yard line a week ago and tried to punch it in for a victory but fell 21-19. The only other loss for South Windsor was a 50-15 loss to No. 9 Bloomfield in September.
With two games remaining in the 2023 campaign, Avon returns to action on Friday, Nov. 10 when they travel to face Bristol Eastern on the Lancers’ turf field at their high school. Avon closes out the season by hosting Lewis Mills on Tuesday, Nov. 21, at 6 p.m.
South Windsor 22, Avon 0
At Avon
South Windsor (6-2) 14 0 0 8 — 22
Avon (2-6) 0 0 0 0 — 0
First quarter
SW: Mitch Chaves 10 run (kick wide), 11:04
SW: Ethan Burke 18 run (Logan Sherwood run), 4:22
Fourth quarter
SW: Sherwood 14 run (Sherwood run), 11:07
Individual statistics
RUSHING – South Windsor: Lloyd Boateng 5-11, Jake Pflederer 5-23, Logan Sherwood 7-88, Sam Czaja 3-10, Mitch Chaves 3-minus 1, Ethan Burke 4-24, Shei Elder 2-minus 5, Luis DeJesus 1-3; Avon – Nick Seminara 5-19, John Murphy 10-29, Nik Meltser 13-55, David Minami 3-8, Carter Davies 5-36, Jahki Ritchens 1-minus 4
PASSING: South Windsor – Jake Pfleder 0-1, Mitch Chaves 1-6-0, 33; Avon – David Minami 0-3-1
RECEIVING: South Windsor – Joey Bemis 1-33
FUMBLE REC: Alex DeRoy (A), Slei Elder (SW), Jayshaun Barrett (SW); INTERCEPTION: Mitch Chaves (SW)
