Avon Grove starts early, motors by Kennett

 

WEST GROVE — Avon Grove got off to about as fast of a start to a season as a team could, but in a weird way, it not only threw off visiting Kennett, but the Red Devils themselves.

Friday, Avon Grove scored three touchdowns in the first 7 minutes, 59 seconds of the contest, and senior running back Nate Jones scored two of those touchdowns and had 105 yards on the ground in that frenzy.

But cramps would derail Jones, and as a result, the offense somewhat stalled. Kennett could not rebound from the big deficit as mistakes compounded on one another to lead to a 35-7 Avon Grove win at home in the season opener.

It was the Red Devils second straight opening-day win over Kennett, outscoring Kennett 77-14 in those two meetings.

“It definitely starts the season off the right way,” Jones said. “We have to fix the little things in practice and go out and get our second win.”

After a successful opening drive capped by a 15-yard touchdown run by Jones, Avon Grove stopped Kennett in its own territory with an interception by Dillon Estes. Jones broke a 46-yard run one play prior to cashing in from the 10-yard line.

A poor long snap set the Red Devils up at the Kennett 20, and two plays later Kevin Francis took his turn in the end zone.

Kennett reached Avon Grove territory in six of its 10 drives, but penalties and turnovers doomed the Blue Demons. Late in the second quarter, a botched handoff was scooped up by Francis and returned 73 yards for a defensive touchdown to put Avon Grove up, 28-0.

“Getting down 28-0 is not where we want to be, but I thought we moved the ball well,” said Kennett coach Doug Langley, who coached Avon Grove from 2012-13. “A couple of times we stalled out and couldn’t capitalize, but I was encouraged how we kept moving the ball.”

Kennett finally broke through the following drive, when Jake Dilcher connected with Kerry Tomasetti for a seven-yard TD. Tomasetti finished with a game-high six receptions for 69 yards.

With under 90 seconds left, Avon Grove responded, driving down the field and scoring 16 ticks before halftime when first-time starter Joey Borcky found Brett Yurkovich behind the defense for a 26-yard score.

“Joey had a good game for a quarterback making his first varsity start,” Avon Grove coach Harry O’Neill said. “I thought he made good decisions and he’s so athletic, he got out of a couple sacks, too.”

The halftime score turned into the final score as Avon Grove got interceptions from Tyler Boyd and Hunter Luhowy and a fumble recovery by Niko Arhontakis.

Jones carried the ball just seven more times for 36 yards after that initial flurry, and the Blue Demons had more first downs (19-13) and total yards (311-293) than the Red Devils, who got the win along with plenty to correct the next week of practice.

“I’m not happy with the way we played,” O’Neill said. “I think we left points on the field and we tackled poorly. I thought our offensive line was just OK, and defensively we gave up too many first downs. It’s not a first down scoreboard, it’s a points scoreboard, so I’m OK with that, but if we want to take the next step, we need to compete better. I’m happy with the score, I’m not happy how we got there.”

Avon Grove 35, Kennett 7

Kennett 0 7 0 0 — 7

Avon Grove 21 14 0 0 — 35

First Quarter

AG: N. Jones 15 run (Sheehan kick)

AG: N. Jones 10 run (Sheehan kick)

AG: Francis 3 run (Sheehan kick)

Second Quarter

AG: Francis 73 fumble return (Sheehan kick)

K: Tomasetti 7 pass from Dilcher (Tuley kick)

AG: Yurkovich 26 pass from Borcky (Sheehan kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

KAG

First downs 19 13

Rushes-Yards 32-109 36-228

Passing yards 202 65

Total yards 311 293

Passing 6-9-0 16-27-3

Punts-Average 1-31 3-37.7

Fumbles-Lost 5-2 1-0

Penalties-Yards 9-79 6-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: Kennett — Robinson 19-90; Hyzny 7-47; Dilcher 3-7; team 3-(-35). Avon Grove — N. Jones 15-141, 2 TDs; Francis 8-52, TD; D. Arhontakis 4-15; J. Borcky 5-11; Boyd 1-7; Rossiter 2-3; team 1-(-1).

Passing: Kennett — Dilcher 16-27, 202 yards, TD, 3 INTs. Avon Grove — J. Borcky 6-7, 65 yards, TD; Wolford 0-2.

Receiving: Kennett — Tomasetti 6-69, TD; Robinson 5-54; McNamara 3-35; Kosara 1-29; Rodriguez 1-15. Avon Grove — Yurkovich 2-31, TD; Francis 1-13; N. Jones 1-11; N. Arhontakis 1-6; Lapham 1-4.

Interceptions: Kennett — none. Avon Grove — Estes; Boyd; Luhowy.