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Avonworth pulls away from Grove City

Tagged under: District 10, District 7, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| August 26, 2023

Grove City: Brandon Biagiarelli rushed for 201 yards as Avonworth pulled away from Grove City 35-14 Friday night at Forker Field.

Last season, Avonworth opened up with a 27-7 victory over the Eagles – it was a similar story Friday night as the ‘Lopes controlled both sides of the football and rallied from a 7-0 deficit.

Turnovers and mistakes doomed Avonworth on their first two possessions, but they scored on their next four consecutive drives to take control of the contest.

“That’s a tough football team, but we made too many mistakes early on, said Avonworth head coach Duke Johncour. “They’re a real good football team. Those guys made some plays tonight against us; we made some changes defensively to contain their offense, but that’s a great team we beat.”

Grove City jumped out to a first-quarter lead when Dom Garzarelli intercepted a Hunter Blackson pass to set up the Eagles at the ‘Lopes 37-yard line on a fourth down and four; Hunter Hohman connected with Gavin Lutz on a 6-yard touchdown, giving Grove City their only lead of the night.

 

“Avonworth is a great team, and they played physical football tonight,” said Grove City head coach Sam Mowrey. “They flew to the football defensively and ground out some tough yards offensively. I thought our defense did a great job forcing turnovers and keeping us in the game – offensively, we have to do a much better job executing.”

After losing a fumble on their second possession, Avonworth tied the game when the ‘Lopes drove 73 yards in 11 plays capped with Blackson’s 7-yard run.

Avonworth took their first lead when Brandon Biagiarelli scored from 18 yards out following a 50-yard drive. Biagiarelli, a Bucknell recruit, finished the night with 17 carries for 201 yards and the touchdown. 

“Brandon is a beast, and that’s why he’s going to Bucknell,” said Johncour. “We’ve had some good backs come through here, and he’s been waiting in the wings for his turn. He is a workhorse.”

The Eagles briefly tied the game when Hohman raced 80 yards for a touchdown with 2:38 to play in the first half. Despite the long run, Hohman was limited to only 79 yards on 14 carries while completing 10-of-21 passes for 77 yards. 

Grove City was limited to 163 yards of offense, while Avonworth grounded out 413 yards, including 285 yards rushing. 

“This was a very similar feeling to last year,” Mowrey said. “When you’re playing great competition, you quickly discover what kind of team you are. We have total faith in our upperclassmen; one game and one score doesn’t define the kind of team this is. We have complete confidence that these boys will find a way to get better and improve from this.”

Carson Bellinger came in at quarterback, and seven plays, 68 seconds later, the ‘Lopes took the lead for good when Andrew Kuban caught a 14-yard touchdown from Bellinger with 1:25 remaining in the first half.

 

“We made a quarterback change at 14-14; we knew we were going to play Bellinger, but for him to come into the game and drive us right down the field to put one in the end zone right before halftime was huge, Johncour said.

Taking the football to begin the third stanza, Avonworth drove 80 yards in 11 plays as Bellinger tossed his second touchdown of the night to Kuban for 13 yards. 

“That’s why I like to defer because then you know what they’re doing and what you can do,” said Johncour. “It gives that opportunity to make adjustments when getting the ball in the second half.”

Kuban led all receivers with seven catches for 87 yards with a pair of touchdowns, while Bellinger completed 8-of-12 passes for 106 yards with the two scoring tosses to Kuban.

Avonworth then put the game away late in the fourth quarter, driving 60 yards when freshman Dimitri Velisaris scored on a 19-yard run. 

Next week, Avonworth hosts Central Valley, who earned a thrilling 36-35 victory over Austintown-Fitch High School.

“It’s Central Valley next week, and that’s all that needs to be said,” concluded Johncour.

Grove City will look to bounce back next week when they travel to Northwestern. 

Game Highlights:

Stats Courtesy of Ryan Briggs

Avonworth 35 Grove City 14

Score by Quarters

Avonworth – 0 21 7 7 – 35

Grove City – 7 7 0 0 – 14

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

GC – Gavin Lutz 6 yd pass from Hunter Hohman, (Jacob Stucchio pat), 4:07 – 5-37

Second Quarter

A – Hunter Blackson 7 yd run, (Stuart McAdams pat), 8:20 – 11-73

A – Brandon Biagiarelli 18 yd run, (McAdams pat), 4:15 – 4-50

GC – Hohman 80 yd run, (Stucchio pat), 2:38 – 3-70

A – Andrew Kuban 14 yd pass from Carson Bellinger, (McAdams pat), 1:25 – 7-80

Third Quarter

A – Kuban 13 yd pass from Bellinger, (McAdams pat), 6:56 – 11-80

Fourth Quarter

A – Dimitri Velisaris 19 yd run, (McAdams pat), 4:41 – 4-60

Individual Stats

Rushing: A – Biagiarelli 17-201, Velisaris 4-34, Nico Neal 4-32, Luke Hollywood 4-23, Austin Kocanovi 3-9, Kuban 1-5, Jackson Vogt 2-5, Blackson 10-(-5), Team 1-(-19). Totals: 46-285. GC – Hohman 14-79, Lutz 1-5, Dom Garzarelli 6-3, Lucas McCreadie 1-2, Jaxyn Wilson 2-0, Joey Hathaway 1-(-3). Totals: 25-86.

Receiving: A – Kuban 7-87, Cooper Scharding 2-21, Noah Goetz 1-16, Vogt 1-4. GC – Lutz 4-51, Nathan Greer 2-(-4), Hathaway 1-19, Ian McCreay 1-8, Clayton Martin 1-3, Garzarelli 1-0.

Passing: A – Bellinger 8-for-12, 106 yards, 2 TD, Blackson 3-for-5, 22 yards, 2 INT. GC – Hohman 10-for-21, 77 yards, 1 TD.

Interceptions: GC – Lutz, Wilson.

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