By JOHN LIKANJE
AVON, N.Y. – The pouring rain. The raucous atmosphere. An Avon 58-yard touchdown pass 18 seconds into the fourth quarter. These are some of the many reasons the LeRoy Knights could have rolled over and let this game get away from them.
However, Kyler LaCarte had other plans. The senior scored the game-winning touchdown as LeRoy stunned Avon, 14-13, on a rainy Saturday night.
“We have some guys that have been around football for a while,” LeRoy head coach Brian Herdlein said about his squad battling through adversity in Saturday’s game. “We have good leadership in the locker room. Halftime, that’s just something we talked about.”
“We didn’t play a very good first half. You’re down by one point. We needed a score to get back in the game. They just kept pushing through. They showed a lot of character tonight.”
The Knights took advantage of their defense getting a stop in Braves territory. From the 10-yard line, senior running back Andrew Englerth picked up four. LaCarte did the rest, rolling to his left six more yards to the house. Junior Alex Panepento scored on a two-point conversion to give the Knights a 14-13 lead with 7:57 remaining.
“My line did a great job blocking and I just had to finish the run because we needed it,” LaCarte said.
“I thought that up front, we were doing a good job,” Herdlein explained. “We were getting chunks of yards and it came through on that drive.”
.@SecVFootball – @LeroyFootball vs. @avonbravesfb: Kyler LaCarte 6-yard TD run plus 2-point conversion by Alex Panepento. 7:57 4Q: LeRoy 14 Avon 13. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/F2YkWEvuWs
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) September 29, 2019
The Knights’ defense forced a three-and-out and stopped a first down attempt on the Braves’ final drive of the game. Herdlein’s defensive line has held their opponents to 10.0 points per game this season.
“So far this season, they’ve come up huge in every game that we’ve played,” Herdlein said of his defense.
Jake Hill, Panepento, Alex Rauscher and Zach Vanderhoof had five tackles apiece. Nate Andrews and Phil Hahn both added four.
With Hill unable to play quarterback due to a thumb injury, Andrews and LaCarte took over. LaCarte scrambled for 97 rushing yards through the final 24 minutes of game action.
“We just wanted to come out and give them a different look,” LaCarte explained. “Something they weren’t used to.”
“In the second half, we just wanted to be more physical up front,” Herdlein explained. “Nate went back to tight end and we just had a little extra blocking for Kyler.”
Englerth continued his strong season with 19 carries, 89 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive of the game. The senior running back has 475 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns through the first four games. Englerth compiled six tackles on defense as well.
“He’s a tank, man,” LaCarte said about Englerth. “He worked out all offseason. He’s a new addition to the team, but he’s great.”
“Early on, he really set a tone,” Herdlein said. “He’s just been kind of a difference maker for us.”
For Avon, Nick Rowland bullied his way into the end zone from a yard out for a 7-6 lead with 4:13 left in the first half. The senior quarterback connected with Roman Volpe for a 58-yard touchdown for a 13-6 advantage with 11:36 remaining in the game.
Rowland completed 11-of-18 passes for 188 yards. The senior quarterback has 507 passing yards this season.
The Knights’ defense forced a three-and-out and stopped a first down attempt on the Braves’ final drive of the game. Herdlein’s defensive line has held their opponents to 10.0 points per game this season.
“So far this season, they’ve come up huge in every game that we’ve played,” Herdlein said about his defense.
LeRoy will host Mynderse/South Seneca next Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Avon travels to Wellsville Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
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