Bright spots for Avon grid club not enough to beat Rocky Hill in OT

Avon’s Carter Davies (6) caught three TD passes in Friday’s overtime loss to Rocky Hill in Avon.

It’s been no secret this season that the Avon High football team has struggled to score points. They’ve been shut out five times in nine games and are on track to score the lowest number of points in a single season in team history.

But for one night, the Falcons were able to get into the end zone.

Avon, which has embraced the single-wing offense that focuses on the run in recent years, had three touchdown passes and passed for more than 200 yards in Friday night’s Central Connecticut Conference game with Rocky Hill on the turf field in Avon.

It wasn’t enough as the Terriers outlasted Avon, 26-20, in overtime but the winless Falcons (0-9, 0-5 CCC Tier IV) played with pride and passion.

The Falcons forced overtime with a goal-line stand in the final minute of the fourth quarter.

“It’s been a tough year but they are so hungry, so hungry,” Avon High coach Matthew Redman said. “They are still so into it. Practices are enjoyable even though we are 0-9. The kids love to be there and we cherish the time we have together.”

Senior receiver Carter Davies had a stellar evening. He caught six passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns of 87, 58 and 76 yards.

Only three players in team history dating back to 1960 have caught three or more touchdowns in a single game. David Lindsay owns the school record with four TD passes against Griswold in 1971. Vince Savarese caught three TDs in a game against Canton in 2009 while Tyler D’Onofrio pulled in three TD receptions against Ellington/Somers in 2010.

Davies’ 87-yard TD reception is the third longest TD reception in team history. Savarese had a 92-yard touchdown reception against Wolcott Tech in 2009.

Davies’ 241 receiving yards is No. 2 in the Avon High record book behind D’Onofrio, who caught 12 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown against Housatonic/Wamogo in 2010.

Lavore is the first Avon quarterback since Noah Hahn in 2013 to throw at least three touchdown passes in a single game. Lavore completed 8-of-17 passes for 274 yards. Lavore is the sixth QB in school history with three of more TDs in a game.

“Their defense played well. They made big plays to stay in the game,” Rocky Hill coach Richard Dance said. “Both teams were playing to win and playing hard. When the plays mattered the most, our players responded.”

Tied at 20-20 in the final minute, Rocky Hill drove inside the Avon 10-yard line with a chance to take the lead. Two consecutive offside penalties on Avon moved the ball from the 10 to the 2½-yard line. But the Falcons made a big fourth down stop to keep the game tied.

Avon won the toss in overtime and allowed Rocky Hill to go first. The Terriers scored on a six-yard TD pass and missed the two-point conversion pass to take a six-point lead.

Avon took over but Rocky Hill’s defense pushed the Falcons backwards to secure their second win of the season.

Rocky Hill (2-7, 1-5 CC Tier IV) took a 12-0 lead on a pair of touchdown runs from quarterback Joey Motes, who ran for a game-high 200 yards on 24 carries. He scored on runs of 23 and 76 yards.

In the third quarter, Davies scored on an 87-yard touchdown reception from Lavore to cut the lead to 12-6. The two-point conversion run failed.

Rocky Hill extended their lead to 20-6 on a nine-yard run from Jaden Veal and a two-point conversion run from Desean Nesmith.

Davies scored again on a 58-yard touchdown reception from Lavore, who ran in a successful two-point conversion to cut the Terrier lead to 20-14.

In the fourth quarter, Davies scored on a 76-yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 20-20. The conversion run failed.

“We can in at halftime and the kids rallied,” Redman said. “They were all for it and were there for each other. We had a couple of nice throws to Carter Davies. We tried to take what was there and that was there.”

“Ethan Lavore was so poised throwing the ball,” Redman said. “Nik Meltser, Reyan Faward both ran hard. The offensive line did a good job with protection – there was just one sack.

“They really held their own defensively. Harris Faward and John Murphy had a ton of tackles. In the secondary, Colin Kozakowski, Nik Meltser and Carter (Davies) all played lights out. They were asked to do a lot but they held their own,” Redman said.

NOTES: It was the first overtime game for the Falcons since 2011 and just the third in team history. The Falcons are 2-1 in OT. … Avon has currently scored 42 points on the year. The school record for fewest points is 60 in six games in 1960, the first year of the program. The fewest points in a 10-game season came in 2004 when Avon scored 79 points and went 1-9.

Rocky Hill 26, Avon 20, OT
At Avon
Rocky Hill (2-7)             6  6    8  0  6  — 26
Avon (0-9)         0  0  14  6  0  — 20
First quarter
RH: Joey Motes 23 run (kick failed)
Second quarter
RH: Motes 76 run (kick failed)
Third quarter
A: Carter Davies 87 pass from Ethan Lavore (run fails)
RH: Jaden Veal 9 run (Desean Nesmith run)
A: Davies 58 pass from Lavore (Lavore run)
Fourth quarter
A: Davies 76 pass from Lavore (run fails)
Overtime
RH: Rathan Tejeda 5 pass from Motes (pass fails)
Individual statistics
RUSHING – Rocky Hill: Joey Motes 24-200, Jaden Veal 4-53, Terrence Morris 4-9; Avon – John Murphy 2-6, Ethan Lavore 11-37, Nik Meltser 10-37, Carter Davies 2-2, Oliver Lojewski 2-3, Ryan Fawad 8-6
PASSING: Rocky Hill: Motes 8-26-0, 121; Avon: Lavore 8-17-1, 274
RECEIVING: Rocky Hill: Rathan Tejeda 2-23, Jaden Veal 4-31, Tanoro Edwards 2-66; Avon: Carter Davies 6-241, Derek Graves 1-24, Reyan Fawad