Avon 21, Tolland 14
At Avon
Tolland (4-2) 14 0 0 0 -- 14
Avon (5-1) 0 0 14 7 – 21
First quarter
T: Cody Backus 1 run (run fails), 7:50
T: Matt Fox 1 run (Chris Leonard run), 3:22
Third quarter
A: Andy Roell 42 pass from Mike D’Onofrio (kick failed), 8:01
A: Mike D’Onofrio 5 run (Roell pass from David Wyrick), 1:51
Fourth quarter
A: Kyle Livingstone 28 pass from Wyrick (Wyrick kick), 0:09
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Avon – David Wyrick 9-15, Mike D’Onofrio 10-21; Tolland – Chris Leonard 19-92, Matt Gavin 2-21, Matt Fox 13-53, Cody Backus 16-91, Kevin Rioux 4-7, Patrick Halgren 2-18
PASSING: Avon – David Wyrick 9-14-0, 121; Mike D’Onofrio 1-1-0, 42; Tolland – Matt Gavin 2-5-1, 0
RECEIVING: Avon – Andy Roell 6-108, Mike D’Onofrio 2-22, Kyle Livingstone 1-28, Ross McDonald 1-4; Tolland – John Brow 1-minus 5, Chris Leonard 1-5
SACKS: Paul Lipcius (T) 2-5
INTERCEPTIONS: Mike D’Onofrio (A) 1-37, Devon Tremblay (T) 1-35
FUMBLE RECOVERY: Mike D’Onofrio (A) 1-25, MIke Dugan (A) 1
RETURNS – Chris Rogers (A) 1-0 (kickoff), Mike D’Onofrio (A) 1-17 (punt), Ross McDonald (A) 1-28 (kickoff), Terence Olsen (A) 1-18 (kickoff); Scott West (T) 3-49 (kickoffs)
PUNTING: Jarod Marshall (A) 2-71
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Avon Football Online
AVON, Oct. 20, 2007 – It was a matter of confidence. And it was a matter of execution.
With 3:22 remaining in the first quarter of Saturday’s Pequot Conference game with Tolland, the Falcons trailed by 14 points. Avon had run just one offensive play – an interception that the visiting Eagles returned 35 yards.
A game for the lead in the Pequot Conference Uncas Division against a team that shared the title a year ago and played in the CIAC Class SS semifinals had not gotten off to a good start. Avon had won four in a row but the last three victories had come against teams with a combined record of 1-12.
Could the Falcons compete with a championship contender?
Yes.
Avon forced two crucial turnovers and scored 21 unanswered points, including a 28-yard touchdown pass from David Wyrick to Kyle Livingstone with nine seconds left to carry the Falcons to a thrilling 21-14 victory over Tolland.
Junior Mike D’Onofrio had a key interception midway through the second quarter to stop an Eagle drive. In the third quarter, Andrew Livingstone forced a fumble that D’Onofrio scooped up and returned 25 yards.
“To pick out one or two guys that played well is a disservice to everyone,” Avon coach Brett Quinion said. “On every series, there was a guy making a play for us.”
Avon (5-1, 4-0 Pequot Uncas) won its fifth straight game and put themselves in position to win its first title since 1993. The Falcons have Pequot Uncas games remaining with Windsor Locks (0-6), Housatonic (3-2), Canton (0-5) and Ellington (5-1), on the final day of the regular season.
Tolland rushed for 281 yards but Avon found a way to stop them when they had to. Tied at 14 late in the fourth quarter, the Eagles were facing third-and-10 from the Falcon 47 when freshman Tyler D’Onofrio made a big hit on Eagle receiver Chris Leonard, holding him to a five-yard gain with 3:10 left. On fourth and 5, Leonard gained just three yards.
Avon took over and faced a crucial fourth-and-one near midfield. Wyrick was out with a cramp but Mike D’Onofrio slipped up the middle for a two-yard gain with 1:00 to go.
Wyrick returned and completed a 15-yard pass across the middle to D’Onofrio. With 37 seconds left, Wyrick completed a 7-yard pass to D’Onofrio to the Tolland 28. With nine seconds, Wyrick found Livingstone in stride down the middle for the game-winning touchdown.
"This is huge," Quinion said. "They beat us very badly last year (45-16). They are a good football team every year. It is a very satisfying win."
Tolland nearly seized control of the game early. After scoring in eight plays on its first drive, Devon Tremblay returned a Wyrick interception 35 yards. The Eagles scored eight plays later for a 14-0 lead. Avon gained just nine yards on its first drive and punted.
Tolland began marching again but Mike D’Onofrio stopped the drive at the Falcon 25-yard line, making a leaping interception with 7:34 left in the first half and returning it 25 yards. Avon didn’t score but they remained in the game.
The confidence and execution began to surface in the third quarter. Three quick first downs gave Avon the ball on the Tolland 42 when Mike D’Onofrio fired a 42-yard TD pass to Andy Roell (6-108) in stride with 8:01 left in the third to cut the Eagle lead to 14-7.
Tolland marched from its 11 to midfield but Livingstone’s helmet hit the ball after a five-yard gain by Leonard and it bounced right to Mike D’Onofrio, who returned it 25 yards to the Tolland 24-yard line.
Five plays later, Mike D’Onofrio scored from the two and Roell made a spectacular one-handed catch, going backwards in traffic for the two-point conversion that tied the game at 14 with 1:51 left in the third.
“With what we do, there is no room for turnovers,” Tolland coach Patrick Cox said. “We have to run the ball and control the clock. And they took advantage of their opportunities.”
NOTEBOOK: Avon is 10-2 all time against the Eagles. ... Roell caught six passes for a career-high 102 yards. ...
