Avon Grove needs 2 OTs to hold off Sun Valley
LONDON GROVE >> Two teams that probably don’t have any postseason football to look forward to, put on quite a show Friday. It included a few minor miracles and then a major one that ended up being the game winner.
Outscored 76-0 in its two previous outings, Avon Grove got some much-needed success to bolster its confidence, and then found a way to outlast visiting Sun Valley, 35-28, in double overtime in Ches-Mont crossover action.
“We were down a little bit because we didn’t play well the previous two games,” said Red Devils’ head coach Joe Coffey. “But we had a great week of practice and our kids just battled tonight. I couldn’t be more proud.”
Now 2-3 overall, Avon Grove scored three straight touchdowns – including a pick 6 – to take a 14-point lead deep into the third quarter. But the Devils’ watched as the Vanguards (2-3 overall) clawed back to tie it, and send it to OT, on the shoulders of junior running back Noah Griffin.
“Both teams battled to the end,” said Sun Valley head coach Ernie Ellis. “Our records don’t show the grit these two teams have.”
Deadlocked at 28 after the first overtime, and facing a fourth and goal at the 3 in double OT, Avon Grove quarterback Frank Hoogerwerf scrambled all the way back to the 30 yard line before turning the corner and finding teammate Noah Brown at the goal line for a truly crazy go-ahead TD.
“I was supposed to roll our right but nothing was open so I decided to go left and try to make something happen,” Hoogerwerf explained.
“We have a bunch of 15-year-olds out there and he is one of them,” Coffey added. “Credit to Frank, he kept playing. We’ve asked him to fill in (for injured starter Joey Marczely) and he is doing a great job.”
What looked like a miracle play to some, was a blown call to the Sun Valley sideline.
“There was a blatant hold that wasn’t called,” Ellis said. “(Hoogerwerf) should have been sacked. I will be sure to send that one into the league officials because it was so blatantly obvious, and with the game on the line … I’m a little salty right now.”
It wasn’t over, however, until a tackle for loss by Cole Walsh, a sack by Jagger Vittelli and an interception in the end zone by junior Trevor Dosenbach enabled the Devils to hold on. It was Dosenbach’s second impact play on defense.
“We definitely needed a game like this,” Dosenbach said. “And we were lucky to come out with the ‘W’, which we really needed.”
Dosenbach also came up with another huge play early in the third quarter to give Avon Grove a 21-7 lead. The cornerback jumped a route in the flats, picked off the pass and raced 22 yards the other way.
“They ran a bubble screen and I was in the flat,” he explained. “As soon as I saw (the receiver) step back I started crashing and (Sun Valley’s quarterback) threw it right to me.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever had a pick-6. It felt surreal.”
But the Vanguards came back, first with an 80-yard scoring drive that ended with a 30-yard run by Griffin. And then – thanks to a short punt after a bad snap – Sun Valley tied it when quarterback Steve Eskridge ran it into the end zone from the 16 with 9:29 to go.
“We just tried to get back to basics and execute,” Ellis said.
“Credit to Sun Valley. They stuck with their system, and we didn’t possess the ball much in that second half,” Coffey added.
Griffin added another TD in the first overtime and finished with 124 rushing yards on 28 carries. But a personal foul call on the Vanguards bailed the Devils out during their initial OT possession, which culminated with a 1-yard scoring run by Thad Binstead on fourth and goal.
“We have super resilient kids, we have great leadership, and emerging juniors and some real young kids that battle their tails off every week,” Coffey said.
“And to win like that, what more could you ask for?”
The Devils had no answer for Sun Valley’s Josh Yanonis in the Vanguards’ first possession. The sophomore wideout grabbed five catches for 62 yards in the possession – including the final 30 on a pass from Eskridge – to open the scoring. In all, the march covered 90 yards and took 13 plays.
Midway through the second period, Avon Grove’s offense got a break and a boost when a roughing the passer penalty on Sun Valley kept a drive alive. Several plays later, Binstead rumbled into the end zone from two yards out and the Devils’ had their first points since Sept. 2.
And when safety Owen Yoder stepped in front of Yanonis to pick off Eskridge, all on the momentum shifted. Three plays later, Hoogerwerf went the final seven yards on an impromptu keeper to give Avon Grove a 14-7 edge at the half.
The Vanguards had an edge in total offense (254-149) and first downs (17-8), but lost the turnover battle 3-0.
“We are better than we’ve been playing,” Hoogerwerf said.
Avon Grove 35, Sun Valley 28 (2 OT)
Sun Valley 7 0 7 7 7 0 — 28
Avon Grove 0 14 7 0 7 7 — 35
Scoring
SV – Yanonis 30 pass from Eskridge (Nolek kick)
AG – Binstead 2 run (Okonowicz kick)
AG – Hoogerwerf 7 run (Okonowicz kick)
AG – Dosenbach 22 interception return (Okonowicz kick)
SV – Griffin 30 run (Nolek kick)
SV – Eskridge 16 run (Nolek kick)
SV – Griffin 2 run (Nolek kick)
AG – Binstead 1 run (Okonowicz kick)
AG – Brown 3 pass from Hoogerwerf (Okonowicz kick)
Team Totals
SV AG
First downs 17 8
Yards rushing 176 78
Yards passing 78 71
Total yards 254 149
Passing 6-13-1-3 6-10-1-0
Fumbles-lost 3-0 0-0
Punts-ave. 2-31.5 5-33.8
Penalties-yds. 4-35 2-10
Individual Statistics
Rushing – SV: Griffin 28-124, 2 TDs; Eskridge 15-47, TD; Penzone 2-(-3); Williams 2-1; Harper 2-7. AG: Brown 3-22; Watson 7-17; Hoogerwerf 6-4; Binstead 11-30, 2TDs; McKeown 5-5.
Passing – SV: Eskridge 6-13, 78 yards, 1 TD, 3 Int. AG: Hoogerwerf 6-10, 71 yards, 1 TD.
Receiving – SV: Yanonis 5-72, TD; Dougherty 1-6. AG: Brown 4-40; Czerpak 2-31.
Sacks – SV: Creegan. AG: Vittelli, Oswald.
Interceptions – AG: Dosenbach 2; Yoder.
