Avon/St. Paul co-op squad looks to be competitive, pick up wins together

Avon’s Samson Putt (22) takes the handoff from during a game last September.

For the past seven years, the Avon High football program has relied on the ground game to get the job done. In 2021, the Falcons ran their way to a Central Connecticut Conference Tier IV championship, a CIAC playoff berth and a 7-3 record.

But for the past few years, the number of players on the Falcon roster have been small and young. Avon has had a few explosive players but not nearly enough in the competitive CCC. Their young players haven’t been strong enough on the offensive and defensive lines.

A year ago, Avon went 1-9 for the second consecutive year with a young team. They scored just 58 points in 10 games, breaking the previous record of 60 points scored in 1961, the second year of the program.

So, the Falcons will be in a co-op program for the first time in team history. They found a partner in St. Paul Catholic out of Bristol, who had been playing in the Naugatuck Valley League.

St. Paul finished the 2025 season with just 35 players on their roster and 10 seniors, who threw nearly every pass, caught all but one pass, rushed for most of the yardage and scored all but six points. St. Paul (2-8) scored just 87 points – their lowest points in a full season since 1999 when they scored 36.

Together under first-year head coach Kerry Graves, Avon/St. Paul looks to be a more competitive team that is leaving its reliance on running in the past.

“The days of both teams running 98 percent of the time are not around now,” Graves said. “We’re going to be a more balanced team. We’ll still run the ball to set up the pass but we feel that we can do anything. We’re very explosive at the skill positions on offense. “

“We have some returning pieces on our offensive line that are going to help us quite a bit and we feel we can score points and a lot of them,” Graves said.

Costa Kolotsidas, Evan Herron and Cameron Tartarelli return on the offensive line from St. Paul while Darryl O’Meally, Alex Morrone and Max Voss return from Avon

At running back, look for Avon sophomore Jaiden Perry (34-245) and St. Paul’s Juel Savoy with Avon’s Jaiden Scott (8 receptions, 115 yards), Alex Schwartz (4-25) and St. Paul’s Nathan Mitchell, Peyton Bill, Dwayne Edwards, Sam Putt and Cooper Donnelly fighting for time at wide receiver.

The competition at quarterback remains unresolved a few days before the season-opening contest in Avon on Thursday night against Class S finalist Northwest Catholic.

Junior Chance King (SP) and sophomore Christian Wankier (Avon) are battling for playing time under center.

One of the big changes for players from both schools is the increased competition for playing time. There are 65 players in the program and 44 at the varsity level with 26 from Avon and 19 from St. Paul.

“There has been a lot of competition,” Graves said. “If you don’t make a practice, you’re probably going to lose your spot. No effort and you’re probably going to lose your spot. So, there has been some movement up and down the board but overall, these guys have been getting after it every day.”

Defensively, the Falcons should have enough players that most starters won’t have to play on both sides of the ball. Some will play on the offensive and defensive line but this year, the coaches will have a choice.

“We have some good team speed on defense and two coaches we saw in scrimmages loved the way we tackle. They get after the ball and go after it,” Graves said.

Avon faced four teams in a variety of scrimmages, beating Bacon Academy/Lyman Memorial, 28-0 and outlasting the Windsor Locks co-op, Wilcox Tech co-op and Gilbert co-op squads.

Graves, who was the defensive coordinator for St. Paul, is not familiar yet with the teams that the Falcons will face from the CCC but the success that Avon found in the preseason was helpful.

“It gave those guys a lot of confidence and you can just see it within these guys. They are starting to believe they can put something together that is not one or two wins,” Graves said.

Avon/St. Paul opens on Thursday against Class S finalist Northwest Catholic at 6 p.m. at Avon High but the Lions graduated their outstanding QB Vincent Burbank.

The Falcons will face Capital Prep/Achievement First in week 2 from the Pequot Conference at Hartford Public on Sept. 18 as part of the Connecticut Football Alliance that arranges competitive non-league contests.

Avon will face Simsbury for the first time since 2019 and the Route 44 trophy will be on the line. The two schools played for the Route 44 trophy from 2015-19 but the series was ended because it wasn’t competitive.

Thanks to the Connecticut Football Alliance, Avon will face Weston on Fri. Oct. 2 on the St. Paul campus for the first time in school history.

The Falcons will close out the season with six games against CCC opponents – East Catholic, Tolland, RHAM, Plainville, Rocky Hill and Lewis Mills/Wolcott Tech.

The annual regular season finale against Lewis Mills/Wolcott Tech will be played on Friday, Nov. 20 instead of during Thanksgiving week as it has been done in the past.

AVON/ST. PAUL
Head coach: Kerry Graves, first year (0-0)
Nickname: Falcons
Conference: CCC Tier IV
Last season: 1-9, 1-6 CCC Tier IV
Last winning season: 2021, 7-3
CIAC playoff class: Class M
Playoff appearances: 4 (0-4)
Last CIAC playoff appearance: 2021
League or division championships: 17. Most recent title: 2021 CCC Tier IV
Opening day record: 32-33. Last opening day win: 2023, Avon 36, East Catholic 0
Social media: Twitter or X: @AHS_Falcons
Team website: none
Of note: This will be the 66th season of varsity football at Avon High. … Avon scored a program-low 58 points a year ago, breaking the previous record of 60 points in a season in 1961. St. Paul scored 87 points a year ago, the fifth lowest number of points in program history and lowest since scoring 36 in 1999. .. This is the first year of a co-op program for Avon, who is the host school. … Two of the five home games will be at St. Paul in Bristol on Oct. 2 and Oct. 17. … This is the first year that Avon is participating in a co-op program in football. Avon’s boys ice hockey program was a co-op partner with St. Paul for a decade from 1999 through 2008. …St. Paul was a host in a co-op program with Goodwin Tech from 2000-09 and Lewis Mills from 2005-09.

2026 schedule
Thur. Sept. 10: NW CATHOLIC, 6 p.m.
Fri. Sept. 18: vs Capital Prep/Achievement First (Hartford Public), 6:30 p.m.
Fri. Sept. 25: SIMSBURY, 6 p.m.
Fri. Oct. 2: vs. WESTON at St. Paul, 6 p.m.
Sat. Oct. 17: vs. EAST CATHOLIC at St. Paul, 1 p.m.
Thu. Oct. 22: at Tolland, 6 p.m.
Sat. Oct. 31: at RHAM, noon
Fri. Nov. 6: at Plainville, 6 p.m.
Fri. Nov. 13: ROCKY HILL, 6 p.m.
Fri. Nov. 20: at Lewis Mills/OWTS, 6 p.m.

Other 2026 football previews

Avon Old Farms
Farmington
Granby/Canton
Lewis Mills
Simsbury

Preseason top 10 poll
2025 Connecticut high school football standings
2025 CIAC football tournaments