Falcons hold off Stratford for first win of the season, 14-12

The Avon High football team won their first game of the season on Friday night with a 14-12 win over Stratford.

AVON, Sept. 23, 2022 – Quarterback Connor Lavore ran for a key two-point conversion and the Avon High defense came up with some crucial stops as the Falcons won their first game of the season Friday night with a 14-12 win over Stratford.

The non-league contest was part of the Connecticut Football Alliance, a series of 90 games that was first created in 2017 to help schools find contests against teams with similar ability. It was the first-ever game between Stratford and the Falcons in football.

It was a thriller with the Falcons (1-2) holding off the visiting Red Devils.

Avon led by eight points, 14-6 before Stratford cut the lead to two when Tristen Pena scored on a five-yard pass from quarterback Joe Booska in the final minute. The two-point conversion pass failed when Avon’s Tanner Cote slapped down the ball before it could reach the receiver.

Stratford (1-2) recovered the onside kick and got into position for a long field goal attempt.

Stratford’s Jaheame Reynolds missed from 47 yards away (short) but got a second chance when the Falcons were penalized 15 yards for roughing the kicker with two seconds remaining in the game. But Reynolds missed again from 32 yards when his kick went wide right.

Pena gave Stratford the early 6-0 lead with a 45-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. The two-point conversion run failed.

Avon got the ball to open the third quarter and went on a long drive that was capped off with David Minami scoring on a one-yard run. The two-point conversion run failed and the game was tied, 6-6.

On Stratford’s next drive, the Falcons forced a punt and Toby Klafter blocked the punt that John Murphy recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Lavore powered in for the two-point conversion to give Avon a 14-6 lead.

Lavore ran for a game-high 163 yards on 28 carries with Cote rushing for 21 yards on eight carries and Nikolai Meltser gaining 19 yards on seven carries.

“We just found our confidence, the confidence in ourselves,” Avon head coach Brendan Smith said. “It didn’t matter what they did, we’re going to play with confidence.”

Avon ran for 216 yards.

“We just executed,” Smith said. “We had the plays and it was the execution that was the difference and what we did well today.”

Murphy also recovered a fumble while Lavore ran well. “He was running like a truck out there,” Smith said of Lavore. “When he gets his legs moving, he is hard to stop.”

Avon 14, Stratford 12
At Avon
Stratford (1-2)                       0  6   0   6  — 12
Avon (1-2)                              0  0  14  0  — 14
Second quarter
S: Tristen Pena 45 run (run fails)
Third quarter
A: David Minami 1 run (run fails)
A: John Murphy recovers blocked punt in end zone (Connor Lavore run)
Fourth quarter
S: Pena 5 pass from Joe Booska (pass fails)
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Avon – Connor Lavore 28-163, David Minami 4-13, Tanner Cote 8-21, Nikolai Meltser 7-19
PASSING: Avon – Lavore 1-1-0, 17
RECEIVING: Avon – Andrew Sielski 1-17