No. 1-seeded Toledo Central Catholic runs all over No. 4-seeded Avon Lake in 56-16 win

SANDUSKY — Avon Lake scored 16 points against a Toledo Central Catholic squad that entered the Division II Region 6 football regional semifinal at the Firelands Regional Medical Center Stadium allowing just 4.3 points a contest.

That 16 points represented the most any opponent had scored against the No. 1-seeded Fighting Irish on the season.

Unfortunately for the Shoremen, that 16 points turned out to be way too few because Toledo Central Catholic burned the Avon Lake defense for 56 in a 56-16

of the Shoremen.

Avon Lake, the No. 4 seed, ends its season at 10-2. Toledo Central Catholic, the No. 1 seed, improved to 12-0. It will take on Avon (11-1), which knocked off Anthony Wayne after getting a late stop in the red zone to clinch the win.

Toledo Central Catholic churned out 539 yards on the ground while its defense limited Avon Lake running back Konner Riggs to 78 yards on 28 carries and a receiving touchdown. Riggs entered the game having rushed for 1,871 yards.

Toledo Central Catholic broke open a close game late in the second quarter, as it scored three touchdowns in the final 5:27 to take a commanding 28-10 lead into the locker room at the half.

Some poor clock management at the end of the half proved fatal for the Shoremen. Avon Lake trailed 21-10 when it recovered a fumble by Fighting Irish quarterback Troy Durden at its 9-yard line with 2:28 left until the break. But instead of trying to run out the clock Avon Lake coach Matt Kostelnik got greedy. Even though the weather had turned windy with blowing snow Kostelnik ordered his quarterback Jack Mikolich to throw the ball two straight times, both of which fell incomplete.

Harry Hebert punted out of his own end zone but only got the ball to the Avon Lake 35.

With just 26.5 seconds left in the half, Durden faded back from his own 32-yard line and found a streaking Michael Griffin running down the middle of the field. Griffin laid out for a spectacular diving touchdown catch.

The play gave The Fighting Irish an 18-point lead at the intermission and both coaches agreed it was the game’s turning point.

“I’d still like that drive back before the half that gave them a quick score,” said Kostelnik as he stood near an end zone on the icy turf talking to reporters after the contest. “That’s a learning curve for me. With only 1:35 at least make them burn their timeouts. So I’ll take the blame for that score right before the half that looked like it put things out of reach.”

Toledo Central Catholic Catholic coach Greg Dempsey concurred the score at the end of the first half was huge.

“They got the turnover and then we ended up getting the stop and we ended getting the score…that’s huge. That’s tough for any team to deal with, especially with the weather,” said Dempsey

Durden and running back Jonzell Norrils spent the night torturing Avon Lake’s defense. The two proved to be too fast and way too elusive for the Shoremen, who also got dominated up front on both sides of the ball.

Durden rushed for 156 yards and four touchdowns for the Irish. He broke several Avon Lake tackles on a third-quarter 68-touchdown run that gave the Irish a 42-16 lead.

Norrils rushed for 178 yards on 13 carries and scored on a 44-yard touchdown run that gave the Fighting Irish a 35-10 third-quarter lead.

Toledo Central Catholic stopped both the Shoremen’s running and passing attack. Quarterback Jack Mikolich completed 9-of-24 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. He entered the game having thrown for more than 1,855 yards and 17 touchdowns for an offense that had scored 449 points entering the game.

Despite the lopsided loss to end the season Kostelnik talked glowingly about his team and its season.

“I’m just really proud of our seniors. To go from a team that hadn’t had a winning season until their freshman year…I just appreciate what they were able to do. They are a great group of kids and are going to be great young men,” said Kostelnik.