Stephen Dumeyer | Reporter

---

Avon’s Football team won their first conference game of the season against Hamilton Southeastern on Sept. 6 in a 35-27 game that wasn’t as close as the score cracks it up to be. Here are the top five things to take away from this week three matchup.

Gall could be the next great Avon wide receiver.

When you think of great wide receivers from Avon in the last few years names like Isaac Guerendo and Jalen Peterson may come to mind. This season junior Remington Gall has taken the reins as he pulled in three touchdowns against HSE proving he is a threat at all levels. Gall had deep touchdowns of 35 and 45 yards and a catch of 4 yards that showed the threat he can pose in the red zone, as he was wide open in the flat after breaking away from his defender. Gall led the team in the game in catches (7), yards (120), and caught all three touchdown receptions for the Orioles. Gall leads the team in those three categories on the season as well with 11 catches for 175 yards and four touchdowns.

Mental mistakes need to be cut back On. 

While a win is a win and the Orioles rolled in this game, there were some mental mistakes that need to be cleaned up before their week 4 matchup against Brownsburg. The Orioles commit 10 penalties for 108 yards which is the most penalty yards they’ve surrender all season. No matter what level of football or what opponent you’re playing you never want to go over the century mark in yards just handed to the other team. Avon also held a 35-6 lead late in the 3rd quarter, after that they allowed 21 points in the final 15 minutes of the game. The Orioles should learn from this game and realize that it’s never early enough to take your foot off the gas.

The run game is a two-headed monster.

The Orioles run game features two running backs, senior Jalen Love more ground and pound back at 5 feet and 3 inches tall, weighing in at 151 pounds. Love rushed 18 times for 79 yards and pounded in a two-yard touchdown run to start off the scoring Friday night. Junior Chrishon McCray comes in at 5’9 and 135 pounds and is the speed back of the Orioles offense he had 11 rushes for 61 yards including a 43-yard touchdown, which is only his second-longest of the year to his 62-yarder against Columbus North week one. This run game has managed to average a whopping 5.28 yards per rush.

The defense continues to swarm.

The speed and versatility of the defense had allowed it to swarm to the ball and prevent opposing rushing opportunities and pressure quarterbacks. Senior Ross England totaled 11 tackles including one for a loss on Friday night. England has been a menace all season leading the team with 30 tackles from the defensive end position, while also totaling four of the teams six tackles for a loss, and one of the teams two sacks this season to tag along with five quarterback hurries. Fellow senior Brevon Gude also showed off his speed and strength Friday night with his sack to go along with six tackles.

Passing attack has become lethal.

Sophomore Henry Hesson has plenty of weapons to throw to and has hit five of those weapons for 10 total passing touchdowns. The shocking thing about this passing attack is its use in the red zone. There have been some deep shots like the two to Gall against HSE but typically once the field has been shortened in the red zone, you see the ground attack ramp up. Lately, coach Mark Bless has called more passing plays to keep defensive on their toes, if the play-calling remains unpredictable the passing game can become a vital weapon in the red zone.

What’s next?

Avon faces off against rival Brownsburg (2-1) next week in their home opener. Currently, both are sitting in the top five in the state as the Bulldogs are coming off a 41-14 win against Franklin Central. This game is vital in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference as it could potentially be the decider of the conference champion come the end of the season.