Defense rises for Avon Grove in shutout of Bishop Shanahan
WEST GROVE >> Saturday afternoon at a sun-splashed Avon Grove Stadium, the host Red Devils used a suffocating defense and a big day from backup quarterback Owen Yoder to win their third straight game as the Red Devils shutout Bishop Shanahan, 14-0, in a Ches-Mont League National Division game on Homecoming Day.
After a scoreless first half, Avon Grove (1-1 National, 4-3 overall) scored touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters as the defense gave the Eagles (0-2, 3-3) virtually nothing as they held them to just 149 yards of total offense — 64 on the ground.
“The coaches put us in good situations and we had really good practices,” Yoder said. “We just feel like we belong and we are playing good football right now.”
Yoder made his presence felt late in the second, when the Eagles drove to the Avon Grove one-yard line. Shanahan quarterback Zack Ferraro had rushed seven yards down to the one, but fumbled the ball out of bounds right before going in for the touchdown.
On the next play, Pat Gallagher fumbled the ball out of the Wildcat formation for a six-yard loss back to the 7. Ferraro then tried to hit Mac Civitella on a slant pattern, but Yoder jumped the route and picked off the pass at the one to end the threat and send the teams into the locker room scoreless.
“The coaches told me he (Civitella) was going to go inside and I got him inside and the ball sailed a little. I said it was time for me to go the ball and it was in may hands.” Yoder said.
“That interception the end of the half was a real momentum shift for them,” Bishop Shanahan head coach Paul Meyers said. “And two plays before that, we were going in and fumbled the football.”
Yoder came in late in the first in pace of starter Frank Hoogerwerff, who was injured on a sack by Michael Whelan. Hoogerwerff left the sideline on a cart and Yoder came in to save the day.
Avon Grove took the second-half kickoff and went on an eight-play, 58-yard drive that ended when Harrison Watson bulled his way up the middle of the line for a 20-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 advantage. Thad Binstead, who rushed for 112 yards, along with Watson, drove the ball down the field.
After a Shanahan three-and-out, the Red Devils took over at their own 34. Two plays later, Yoder threw a ball up in the air and Gallagher picked him off and went 30 yards down the left sideline to the AG 30.
Once again, the Avon Grove defense held strong. The Eagles were getting nothing on the ground and on a fourth-and-six play, Ferraro’s pass for Trevor Barbadora fell incomplete and the Red Devils took over.
On the ensuing possession, on third down, Yoder rolled right and the entire defense went with him. Yoder then stopped and hit a wide open Watson on the left side for a pretty 38-yard touchdown pass and a 14-0 lead with 9:02 to play.
“We work on that play a lot,” Watson said. “We have used it in some games before and this time, everybody went right and I saw the corner man go there too. I slipped away on the left side and Owen hit me with the pass and I ran it in. It feels good to be winning games right now.”
“When Frank got hurt, Owen went in and he is a leader, one of our captains and a great baseball player too,” Avon Grove head coach Joe Coffey said. “He works very hard and does everything we ask him. This team has played very well the last three weeks. We have good senior leadership, even through we don’t have many seniors. The juniors and sophomores are playing well. I hope it keeps up.”
The loss hurts Shanahan’s District 1 4A playoff hopes. Meyers talked about the decisive second half.
“They made some adjustments at halftime and we did not respond. And we knew they could run the football with number 4 (Watson) and the fullback (Binstead). They played well.”
Avon Grove 14, Bishop Shanahan 0
Bishop Shanahan 0 0 0 0 — 0
Avon Grove 0 0 7 7 — 14
Third Quarter
Avon Grove — Watson 20 run (Okonowics kick)
Fourth Quarter
Avon Grove — Watson 38 pass from Yoder (Okonowics kick)
team statistics
BS AG
First downs 8 16
Rushes-yards 28-64 36-167
Passing 5-18-2 5-6-1
Passing yards 85 94
Total yards 149 251
Punts 3-35.5 2-35.0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 3-1
Penalties-yards 6-55 11-78
BS AG
First downs 8 16
Yards rushing 64 167
Yards passing 85 94
Total yards 149 251
Passing 5-18-2 5-6-1
Fumbles-lost 1-0 3-1
Punts-avg 3-35.5 2-35.0
Penalties-yds 6-55 11-78
Individual statistics
Rushing — Bishop Shanahan: Barbadora 8-27; Gallagher 8-18; N. Bracken 4-11; Ferraro 2-5; S. Bracken 1-2; Phillis 5-1. Avon Grove: Binstead 14-112; Watson 13-64 TD; McKeowan 3-10; Yoder 2-10; Hoogerwerff 1-(-12); Dosenbach 3-(-17).
Passing — Bishop Shanahan: Ferraro 5-18-2 85 yards. Avong Grove: Hoogerwerff 1-1-0 22, Yoder 4-5-1 72 yards TD.
Receiving — Bishop Shanaha: Gallagher 2-2; Civitella 1-43; Olivo 1-33; Barbadora 1-7. Avon Grove: Brown 2-32; Watson 1-38 TD; Picard 11-4; McKeown 1-10.
Interceptions — Bishop Shanahan: Gallagher. Avon Grove: Yoder 2.
Sacks — Bishop Shanahan: Whelan.
