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Faith, Family, Football: Avonworth Brings Home First State Title

Tagged under: District 11, District 7, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

| December 6, 2025

One year ago, Avonworth experienced sheer heartbreak as Northwestern Lehigh took home gold in overtime. This year, they soaked in every moment on the field as they dominated many of those same Tigers. From their first play, a 57-yard strike from Carson Bellinger to Jaden Jones over, to the performance by Luca Neal, Avonworth put a bow on an undefeated season with a 31-7 victory.

After an opening that netted no yards, the Tigers were able to reply following Jones’ score. A Shane Leh pass accented a ten-play drive down the middle to Mason Bollinger near the goal line. Braxton Lakatosh capped the drive from two yards out to tie the game at 7-7.

Then Luca Neal got to work. Carson Bellinger fired a 48-yard pass to him. He was finally dragged down at the 3-yard line. On the next play, following a false start, he ran to the outside and got the corner for the touchdown, putting the Antelopes ahead for good at 14-7 with 1:52 to go in the first quarter.

The defense flexed again on Northwestern’s ensuing drive, holding on 4th & 2 courtesy of a tackle of Brady Zimmerman in the backfield. Just four plays later, Neal was back in the end zone on a near mirror image of his previous score. Jaden Jones, who set the championship game record for most individual receiving yards(187), played a key role in the drive, gathering in a 36-yard catch.

Head coach Duke Johncour’s message of ‘faith, family, football’ rang loudly for his squad all game long. When adversity hit, the team responded at every turn. After a Neal touchdown was taken off the board due to a penalty, the Antelopes settled for a short field goal, moving the lead to 24-7. From there, the defense stepped up in a significant way, turning away the Tigers time after time despite five turnovers.

With the Lopes driving again inside Tiger territory, Brady Zimmerman knocked the ball loose, and Northwestern got the ball back. Just four plays later, Gavin McDowell intercepted Leh and nearly returned the ball to the house, finally stepping out on the Tiger 22. On the next play, Shane Leh made a diving pick of Bellinger. Northwestern did not capitalize, but kept the deficit at 24-7 going into the locker room.

Kemurry Morgan halted Avonworth’s opening drive in the third quarter, picking the ball off at his own 10-yard line and allowing Tigers fans to breathe a sigh of relief. Leh hit Shane Humes for 22 yards, and Northwestern was moving the ball near midfield. However, Brad Hines and Romello Harris came together in the backfield to nail Leh for a 13-yard loss, ending the last major threat made by the team from New Tripoli.

Neal capped the scoring on the afternoon with an 8-yard touchdown jaunt. He ended up with 118 yards and three scores, but also anchored things on defense, coming up with a fumble recovery.

Avonworth held the Tigers to 43 rushing yards on the day, forcing Leh into the pass game, where he was hounded for much of the second half. Seven combined turnovers marked a sloppy play at times, but Avonworth was still dominant in the second half and never allowed the Tigers to get going on offense.

Avonworth 31 Northwestern Lehigh 7

Score by Quarters

Avonworth – 14 10 0 7 – 31

Northwestern Lehigh – 7 0 0 0 – 7

Scoring Summary

FIrst Quarter

A – Jaden Jones 53 yd pass from Carson Bellinger, (Calder Mahan pat), 10:19

N – Braxton Lakatosh 2 yd run, (Chase Sukanick pat), 5:11

A – Luca Neal 8 yd run, (Mahan pat), 1:52

Second Quarter

A – Neal 9 yd run, (Mahan pat), 9:41

A – Mahan 21 yd field goal, 3:09

Fourth Quarter

A – Neal 8 yd run, (Mahan pat), 9:01

Individual Stats

Rushing: A – Neal 21-118, Gavin McDowell 3-26, Logan Krul 1-5, Jones 1-0, Mahan 1-(-6), Bellinger 6-(-6), Team 2-(-2). Totals: 35-135. N – Lakatosh 12-46, Chase Sukanick 4-10, Mason Bollinger 1-(-2), Leh 8-(-3), Brady Zimmerman 1-(-4), Team 1-(-4). Totals: 27-43.

Receiving: A – Jones 7-187, Neal 2-62. N – Shane Hulmes 3-44, Bollinger 3-43, Zimmerman 4-33, Mike Lagowy 3-24.

Passing: A – Bellinger 9-for-11, 249 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. N – Leh 13 for 29, 144 yards, 1 INT.

Interceptions: A – Jackson Krul. N – Leh, Kemurry Morgan.

 

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