CANTON — At Mount Union, Mike Elder just missed.
His last year on head coach Larry Kehres’ offensive line was 1992. He was gone the next year when Mount Union won the first of its now numerous small-college national championships.
Elder isn’t missing now. His Avon Eagles won their second straight Ohio high school state championship in bitter cold Thursday night, subduing the Cincinnati Anderson Raptors 37-20 in the OHSAA Division II finals.
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It was the first of seven state championship games in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Elder is a former Warren JFK player; his high school alma mater won a Division IV state title when he was playing for Mount Union. In his 19th year as Avon’s head coach, he views Kehres as a second father. He is in fact the father of Avon’s 6-foot-1 senior quarterback, Blake Elder.
Before the game was 10 minutes old, the younger Elder whistled touchdown passes of 22 and 20 yards to Finn Jerdonek and Caden Clapham. He opened the second quarter with a short TD pass to Caeden Bennett, providing a 21-0 lead.
He found his No. 1 target on the year, Grant Barr, on a 37-yard bomb into the end zone. Four TD passes to four different receivers left Avon up 27-7 at halftime.
Anderson came out quick-passing in a no-huddle operated by 6-2 junior Owen Scalf, who came in with 4,584 passing yards. Avon’s defense had early answers, and it was no night to try a fast-break basketball approach, but Scalf stuck with it and kept the game out of running-clock territory.
Anderson trailed 27-13 in the third quarter and had the ball when Avon put it away. An interception by Jairel Fenton led to a 7-yard TD run by Quiante Smith that produced a 34-13 lead.
Avon and Anderson both finished with 14-1 records, Avon’s loss coming in Game 2 to a team from Fort Orange, Florida, where Thursday’s temperatures were in the 60s.
The Raptors got off their charter buses 2 ½ hours before kickoff and filed into “the bubble” at Hall of Fame Village. They warmed up where it was indeed nice and warm.
They moved to the stadium to share 2 ½ hours of historic cold with the Avon Eagles. The temperature was 17 degrees at kickoff and 13 when Avon hoisted the trophy for what was left of a crowd announced at 4,592.
In pregame exercises, a huge Avon lineman did the macho thing by wearing a sleeveless shirt. Fans arrived as late as they could and dressed up like Eskimos. The cheering sections made lots of noise, the score and the weather notwithstanding.
Why was Avon considered the favorite? Beyond the fact the Eagles returned plenty from their 2024 state title team that beat Anderson 20-13 in the finals, there was this:
Two weeks ago, everybody went “woah” when Walsh Jesuit whipped mighty Hoban 35-7. It was “double woah” when Avon walloped Walsh 38-7 last Friday.
Anderson came in historically hot. The OHSAA football tournament turned 50 years old in 2022, at which point the Raptors had been in the state finals just twice. In 2023, they made the state semis. In 2024, they made it to the finals. Now they were back after a 29-22 semifinal win over Big Walnut, the team that eliminated Massillon.
Louisville fans remember Anderson as the team that beat the Leopards 31-25 in the 2007 D2 championship game, in Massillon.
Here’s a look at some of the key things to know about the game:
Player of the game: Blake Elder, quarterback, Avon
In 2024, Avon beat Anderson in the D2 state final behind 190 rushing yards from quarterback Nolan Good. On Friday, Good’s successor, Elder, won the game with his arm and his head, throwing four touchdown passes in the first half on plays covering a combined 81 yards. Elder didn’t look to run, but when he needed to, he gained 17 yards on a third-and-long. It was one of the biggest hidden plays of the game. The 6-foot-1 Elder showed the poise of a senior who has grown up with football. His dad is in his 19th year as the Eagles’ head coach.
Play of the Game: Punt? Or not a punt?
There were early signs neither team would be able to move the ball in the extreme cold. A dropped pass led to an Anderson punt, with QB Owen Scalf doubled as the punter. The Raptors tried to make Avon think they might go for it on fourth-and-4 from their own 41. With Scalf lined up in deep shotgun formation, the Raptors neither passed nor punted because the snap shot over Scalf’s head. Avon recovered at the 20 and soon had a 7-0 lead on a TD h by Finn Jordonek, wide open on a for a post throw from Blake Elder.
Three stats to an OHSAA football title
They said it
The Canton Repository sports department can be contacted via email at sports@cantonrep.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Blake Elder, son of Avon head coach, wins QB duel, OHSAA D2 title game
Reporting by Steve Doerschuk, Canton Repository / The Repository
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