Avon Grove Red Devils rushing attack pulls through against the Sun Valley Vanguards

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News

Ted Podberesky | September 23, 2023

It was a cold Friday night with the Sun Valley Vanguards hosting the Avon Grove Red Devils at Dr.Wally stadium. The Red Devils came into this game with a 2 game losing streak looking to get back on the horse and excel above .500. The Vanguards looked to keep their win streak going as they got their first win last week against West Chester Henderson. Avon Grove pushes through Sun Valley tonight taking home a win in a 27-7 battle. 

The Red Devils started with the ball, making it known the run game was gonna be a factor all night for their offense. Running backs Harrison Watson and Lucas Laganelli went back and forth carrying the rock on the first drive. Until, safety Matt Jackson and linebacker Ryan Creegan combined for a tackle on 3rd down forcing a punt. 

Sun Valley had a methodical plan, their first drive of the game picking up yards from the run and then hitting the defense with play action. The Vanguards drove down the field after a long possession, where quarterback RJ Sharrer ran in for a six yard touchdown with five minutes remaining in the 1st quarter.

Soon after, Sun Valley tried an onside kick and recovered. After picking up a couple first downs the run was shut down by the Red Devils linebacker Cole Walsh who plugged up gaps play after play, bringing the 1st quarter to an end.

Avon Grove got the ball back after the punt from the Vanguards and went back to their rushing attack immediately. Feeding the two headed monster backfield Watson and Laganelli, it wasn’t long before the Red Devils met in the endzone. Quarterback Frank Hoogerwerf found Lucas Laganelli in the flat where he punched the ball in from the seven yard line with less than seven minutes to go in the 2nd quarter.

Sun Valley tried to get things going again on offense, but was stopped after running back Noah Griffin was swallowed up behind the backfield on multiple plays. The Red Devils defense was constantly putting pressure on the offensive line, forcing the Vanguards to make big time plays in the pass game.

After an incomplete pass on third down the Vanguards punted again. With momentum rising for the Red Devil offense, they traveled down the field with ease. With the offensive line making huge gaps, Watson broke off first down after first down. Eventually, picking up twenty eight yards on a run followed by a four yard touchdown. 

Down seven with two minutes to go before half the Vanguards went into their no huddle offense, airing the ball out to receiver Josh Yanonis and Aidan Cook. Cook had a nice grab before being bundled up and tackled short of the first down marker. The Red Devils made their mark after getting the ball back, picking up two big plays and kicking a field goal with three seconds left to bring them into halftime.

Avon Grove led Sun Valley 17-7 heading into the third quarter where the Vanguards received to start the second half. The Vanguards continued to run the ball but the Red Devil defense was ready for this kind of offense, quickly making a stop and getting the ball back. It wasn’t long after until we saw the powerful Avon Grove backfield once again. Langanelli had a twenty yard run into Sun Valley territory before Watson took over again and punched in a thirty one yard touchdown run, expanding their lead to 24-7. 

Sun Valley’s offense started to get on a roll with RJ Sharrer at the helm delivering rockets to his receiver Yanonis once again. Avon Grove continued to send pressure and eventually got there, forcing a throw out of bounds and a fourth and long for the Vanguards offense. Avon Grove tried taking advantage of this opportunity but missed a field goal with time winding down in the third quarter.

It was a long back and forth game in the 4th quarter with both teams making multiple stops on eachother. The Red Devils eventually got an opportunity to score late in the 4th quarter and kicked a field goal, pushing their lead to 27-7 with under a minute to go in the game. 

Sun Valley went back to their passing attack but unfortunately didn’t have enough time to make anything happen. After a fumble recovered by the Red Devil defense, Avon Grove’s quarterback Frank Hoogerwerf came out to end the game on a kneel, taking home a win over the Vanguards 27-7.

Avon Grove’s running back Harrison Watson who ran for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns states that, “ The connection between Laganelli and I is pure brotherhood when one of us gets tired we pick eachother up and we get the next one, whether it’s me or him who get the ball “. 

Sun Valley’s wide receiver Josh Yanonis who combined for over 60 receiving yards says that, “ I connected with my quarterback all game, but there’s still work to be done. We gotta find the sweet spot to our offense and keep it moving “. 

Sun Valley takes on Penn Wood next week for their homecoming game, while Avon Grove hosts Academy Park. 

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