By JOHN LIKANJE
AVON, N.Y. – An opening drive kickoff return touchdown by Mynderse failed to faze Avon’s Nick Rowland. The senior quarterback took the field and led five scoring drives on the first five possessions for the Avon Braves in their 48-6 victory, Friday night.
“Yeah, that was a rough start,” Rowland said. “But (we) bounced right back and got the victory.”
“We’re a young team and it was nice to come out with a win tonight,” Braves head coach Andrew Englert said.
Tied at six apiece with 6:58 left in the first quarter, Rowland scampered into the end zone from five yards out as part of a six-play, 57-yard drive. Senior running back Michael Carrick rumbled for 52 of those yards through the first five plays before Rowland finished it off with the quarterback keeper to give the Braves a 13-6 lead.
.@SecVFootball – @MADevilsFBall1 vs. @avonbravesfb: QB Nick Rowland takes it in himself on 4th & 6. 4:20 2Q: Avon 27 Mynderse 6. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/g5fiAeSCal
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) September 6, 2019
For the game, Rowland had 11 carries and 100 rushing yards. The senior quarterback completed all seven of his passes and compiled five touchdowns – three on the ground and two through the air.
“The line really stepped up tonight and got it done,” Rowland said. “Blocked for me.”
“He’s able to read the defense and see where he’ll be able to pick things apart,” Englert said about his quarterback. “He’s not a super-fast kid, but he’s able to find the alleys.”
.@SecVFootball – @MADevilsFBall1 vs. @avonbravesfb: QB Nick Rowland with his 3rd rush TD. 9:08 3Q: Avon 34 Mynderse 6. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/dH2iu3j677
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) September 7, 2019
Roman Volpe was on the receiving end of both of Rowland’s touchdown passes. The junior wide receiver corralled four catches for 74 yards. Carrick ran through the line of scrimmage nine times and tallied 98 yards. Sophomore running back Thomas Welch had 13 carries for 75 yards. Freshman linebacker Nolan Clar led the defense with four tackles. Adam Mariani and Welch had three apiece.
Sophomore quarterback Andrew Rowland went 6-of-6 for 107 yards and a rushing touchdown.
.@SecVFootball – @MADevilsFBall1 vs. @avonbravesfb: Sophomore Andrew Rowland with the QB keeper into the end zone. 6:20 4Q: Avon 48 Mynderse 6. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/ayQe3ooBXD
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) September 7, 2019
The Braves racked up 493 yards of offense on 54 plays – 301 on the ground and 192 through the air. Englert’s squad converted three fourth downs in four attempts as well.
“I believe in our offense and our group to be able to get that first down,” the Braves head coach explained. “We got a great leader in Nick and he was able to see things. There were windows of opportunity where we took it and came out on top.”
For the Mynderse Blue Devils, Dylan Larizza hustled for a 77-yard kickoff return touchdown on the game’s opening drive. Running back Matt Kenyan compiled 20 carries for 30 yards. Wide receiver Jared King hauled in eight catches for 29 yards. Quarterback Kaleb Stenquist went 8-of-9 from the pocket.
Avon will travel to Wayland-Cohocton next Friday at 7 p.m. Mynderse matches up with class C sectional champion, Letchworth/Warsaw, Friday at 7:30 p.m.
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