Avon Grove defense limits Academy Park, keys upset victory

LONDON GROVE >> You can’t fault the Avon Grove players for being a bit rusty when it comes to the post-game football ritual of dumping a bucket of ice water on the victorious coach after a big win.

That’s because the Red Devils haven’t had many in recent years. In fact, the last time Avon Grove won two in a row was back in 2017. But on Friday, the Devils notched the most impactful triumph of Joe Coffey’s short reign as the head coach with a stunning 14-8 victory over visiting Academy Park.

“It wasn’t perfect, but everybody did their job and stuck together,” Coffey said. “I am excited and proud of our kids. They fought.”

It was an outcome that was sure to draw raised eyebrows across the regional landscape because the Knights entered the non-league clash unbeaten and ranked number one in the latest District 1 5A power rankings.

“I think all of our coaches thought it was going to be a battle, but our players underestimated (Avon Grove),” said Academy Park head coach Jason Vosheski. “They played better than we did. They wanted the game more than we did from start to finish.”

The Knights (4-1 overall) entered the contest having scored at least 41 points in every game, and having outscored its opponents 166-19. But the Devils (3-3) have played a very challenging schedule and the defense has been improving with every outing.

“No one had us winning this game, but we believed,” said Avon Grove senior Copper McDannald, who snared two touchdown catches and started in the defensive backfield. “If you come into a game ready to battle, anything is possible.

“People like to look down on Avon Grove, but we have a real blue collar mentality and we come to work for all of our brothers on this team. Our defense has been getting better and is pretty sound right now.”

Academy Park came in with some gaudy offensive numbers, but the Devils allowed just 228 yards of total offense and one score. The Knights only surrendered 176 yards, but Avon Grove had 129 in the second half and staged two TD drives.

“We have a strong front and we rotate guys in and out so we can remain fresh,” Coffey explained. “We saw the things that (Academy Park) wanted to do and we stopped that first. We wanted to make them throw the ball and our secondary answered when it mattered.”

Trailing by six in the final six minutes of regulation, the Knights marched deep into enemy territory on two occasions but wound up turning it over on downs at the Devils’ 28- and 25-yard lines respectively.

The last gasp came when Academy Park took over in plus-territory following an 18-yard punt return by Eric Willis. On third down at the 25, Avon Grove’s Clay Nagy nearly came up with an interception on a screen pass. And then an incomplete pass on fourth down turned it over to the Devils, who took a knee three times to end it.

“If we play together, we are a winning football team,” said defensive end Josh Reuter, who had a sack and two other tackles for loss. “I am incredibly proud of my team.

“It’s taken us a while to get going this season, but the difficult competition early in the season was very helpful. We’ve been tested against teams like Coatesville and Unionville, and (Academy Park) was not tested.”

The game-winning drive came midway through the fourth period, covered 80 yards, and a 40-yard run by junior runner Anthony Lorusso set it up. McDannald then wrapped it up with a five-yard scoring catch from quarterback Connor Walsh with 6:16 remaining.

“We played good defense in the first half,” Vosheski said. “But the rest of the way we missed too many tackles and were misaligned too many times. And that’s the first time those things have happened this season.”

Avon Grove ended a scoreless drought on McDannald’s first touchdown on the opening possession of the third quarter. He caught a slant from Walsh, broke a tackle and found the end zone for a 26-yard score. The Knights came back, however, to take the lead when Willis scored on a six-yard run. The senior wideout then executed a fake point after attempt to convert the two-point conversion and give Academy Park an 8-7 lead.

The Knights made forays into Avon Grove territory on all three of its first half possessions, but were also unable to score. The first ended when the Devils stopped quarterback Darrell Fields on fourth down inside the 29. The next was sabotaged by two holding penalties. And the Knights turned it over on downs at the Avon Grove 6 on the third.

“We deserved everything we got,” Vosheski said. “A lot of our problems were self-inflicted.

“When you get into scoring range and then you go backwards, that leads to turning the ball over on downs. We didn’t execute the way we did in the first five weeks of the season.”

The Red Devils only had 47 yards of offense in the first half, but they did have a prime second quarter scoring chance when Ethan Petersen recovered a fumbled punt by Academy Park. But Avon Grove kicker Adam Okonowicz missed the ensuing 29-yard field goal attempt.

Lorusso gained 70 of his 106 rushing yards on 17 attempts, and helped the Devils control the football and keep the Knights’ playmakers off the field.

“If (Academy Park) isn’t on the field, it’s tough for them to score,” Coffey said. “Part of the plan was to sustain drives, which is something we’ve been doing behind our front five and our two-headed monster of Anthony (Lorusso) and Thad (Binstead). They complement each other well and they run hard.”

The dumping of the ice water did happen, but it was long after the conclusion, and even after the Devils met as a team to discuss the outing. But nobody complained about the timing.

Avon Grove 14, Academy Park 8

Academy Park                                 0 0 0 8 — 8   

Avon Grove                                      0 0 7 7 — 14

Scoring

AG – McDannald 26 pass from Walsh (Okonowicz kick)

AP – Willis 6 run (Willis run)

AG – McDannald 5 pass from Walsh (Okonowicz kick)

Team totals                                                  AP AG

First downs                                                  9 9

Yards rushing                                              160 126

Yards passing                                               68 50

Total yards                                                   228 176

Passing                                                          7-16-0 4-10-0

Fumbles-lost                                                3-1 0-0

Punts-ave.                                                    2-29 4-31.7

Penalties                                                       5-45 3-25

Individual statistics

Rushing – AP: Sanogo 14-68; Willis 7-42, TD; Fields 4-9; Oliver 3-37; Ford 1-(-9); Greenwood 2-13. AG: Lorusso 17-106; Binstead 12-18; Walsh 9-2.

Passing – AP: Fields 7-16-0 68 yards. AG: Walsh: 4-10-0 50 yards.

Receiving – AP: Davis 1-12; Greenwood 3-31; Willis 2-18; Ford 1-7. AG: McDannald 2-31, 2 TDs; Petersen 1-13; Delgato 1-6.

Sacks – AP: Sammons. AG: Reuter.