The Avon High School football team and Cincinnati Anderson will kick off the 2024 OHSAA football state championships tonight with the Division II title game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
It’s the first of seven high school football championshp games – the weekend’s lone matchup of 15-0 teams – as games continue Friday and Saturday at the stadium.
Follow along here throughout the night for live updates on the game.
The Raptors are down to the Avon 33-yard line with 48 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. Cincinnati Anderson just took its second timeout of the half. It will be third-and-5 with 38 seconds to play. Avon is holding on to a 20-13 lead.
The Raptors are up to their own 43-yard line with 1:55 to play in this game. Avon leads Cincinnati Anderson 20-13.
Ace Alston just intercepted Avon at the Raptor 3-yard line. What a clutch play by Alston. The Raptors need to go 97 yards with 4:28 on the clock. Avon leads Cincinnati Anderson 20-13.
We’ve seen some gutsy calls by both teams tonight but that was a big one. The Eagles just went for a fourth-and-1 on its own 14 yard line and converted it on a 3-yard run by Quiante’ Smith. Avon leads Anderson 20-13. We currently have 6:42 on the clock. The Eagles are now driving.
A quarterback keeper by Justice Burnham on fourth down loses three yards for Cincinnati Anderson. Avon takes over at its own 5-yard line with a 20-13 lead and 10:20 to play in the fourth quarter.
The Raptors have a fourth-and-goal from the Avon 2-yard line with 10:22 in the fourth quarter upcoming. The Raptors just took their first time to talk it over. Avon leads Cincinnati Anderson 20-13 as snow continues to fall here in Canton.
The Eagles are holding onto a 20-13 lead after the third quarter. Cincinnati Anderson is driving and will have a second-and-14 at the Avon 22-yard line to start the fourth quarter.
Running back Quiante’ Smith comes up with a 10-yard rushing touchdown for Avon on a third-and-6 play for the Eagles. The Eagles go for a 2-point conversion and the run fails. Avon leads Cincinnati Anderson 20-13 with 3:54 left to go in the third quarter here at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Justice Burnham comes through with a 5-yard touchdown run on a third-and-goal for the Raptors. The elements come into play on the extra point. The Cincinnati Anderson kicker is not able to get good footing and the line drive kick is blocked by Avon. The Eagles hold onto a 14-13 lead with 8:50 left in the third quarter as a result.
The Raptors are not shy about taking chances in this game. Jake Brammer just caught an 18-yard pass from Justice Burnham on a fourth-and-13 play from the Cincinnati Anderson 25-yard line. The Raptors are rewarded with a new set of downs early in the third quarter.
Avon leads Cincinnati Anderson 14-7. The Raptors will receive the kickoff to start the second half. Snow continues to fall at a steady rate here at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Avon attempted a 38-yard field goal with five seconds left on the clock. The kick was blocked by Cincinnati Anderson’s Ben Schultz. The ball was covered by Schultz at the Raptor 13-yard line with no time left on the clock. Avon leads Cincinnati Anderson 14-7 at halftime.
Avon is back in business. Jacob Graham just intercepted Justice Burnham at the Raptor 38-yard line with 19 seconds to play in the first half. Avon leads Anderson 14-7.
Avon quarterback Nolan Good got loose on a 25-yard run before Anderson’s Jayonn Saunders brought him down and forced a fumble at the Raptor 5-yard line. The ball skidded along the turf and eventually went out the back of the Cincinnati Anderson end zone. The Raptors will take over on their own 20-yard line with 38 seconds to go in the first half. Avon leads Anderson 14-7.
Defensive lineman James Tatman just jumped on a Cincinnati Anderson fumble at the Eagle 43-yard line. It was the second consecutive play that the Raptors fumbled. Anderson was able to pounce on the first one. The Raptors were not so lucky on the second one. Avon takes over with 1:37 to play in the first half with a 14-7 lead.
Matt Maxey just pulled in a 44-yard touchdown pass from Nolan Good on a third-and-8 play to help Avon regain the lead here at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The Owen Warrick kick was good. Avon leads Cincinnati Anderson 14-7 with 2:58 to go in the second quarter.
Aiden McClanahan hauls in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Justice Burnham on a third-and-2 play with 6:01 left in the second quarter to get the Raptors on the board. The kick by Lucas Callahan is good. Cincinnati Anderson and Avon are now tied 7-7. The Raptors converted had two fourth down conversions on that drive.
Cincinnati Anderson converts a fourth-and-7 after a pass interference call keeps the drive alive. The Raptors now have a first-and-10 at the Avon 20-yard line.
Justice Burnham came up with a 5-yard run on a fourth-and-4 play from the Raptor 48-yard line. The big run by Burnham gives Anderson a new set of downs with 8:30 to go in the second quarter. Avon leads the Raptors 7-0.
Cincinnati Anderson forced an Avon turnover on downs at the Raptor 30-yard line. The key play for the Anderson defense was a Reid Baker sack of Nolan Good on a second-and-5 play. Raptors take over. Avon leads Anderson 7-0 with 9:55 to go in the second quarter.
Avon holds a 7-0 lead on Cincinnati Anderson after one quarter of play at snowy Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The Eagles will start the second quarter with a first-and-10 at the Raptor 33-yard line. This was a drive that started all the way back at the Avon 4-yard line. Big stat from the first quarter. Avon had possession for 10:04. Cincinnati Anderson has had the ball for just 1:56 so far.
Avon just converted a fourth-and-6 with a 7-yard pass play from Nolan Good to Ty Beerbohm. That was a really gutsy call at this stage of the game. The Eagles were at their own 48-yard line when they snapped the ball. It will now be first-and-10 for Avon at the Cincinnati Anderson 45-yard line.
The Raptors had a long pass play down to the Avon 5-yard line called back on an illegal formation penalty and ultimately had to punt. The Cincinnati Anderson coverage team did a great job and ended up downing the punt on the Avon 4-yard line. The Eagles will take over at that spot with a 7-0 lead with 6:20 to go in the first quarter.
The snow was not able to slow the Avon offense on its first drive. Quarterback Nolan Good just took off for a 71-yard touchdown on a third-and-long play to put the Eagles on the scoreboard. Good had two carries for 78 yards on the drive. He has incredible speed. Once Good got past that first wave of Anderson defenders, he was gone. The extra point attempt by Owen Warrick was good. Avon leads Cincinnati Anderson 7-0 with 8:15 to go in the first quarter.
Avon is set to receive the opening kickoff to the Division II state championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. It is 24 degrees and snow is falling.
Both teams are out of the tunnel and onto the field here at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The officials are meeting at midfield. We have three minutes left on the pregame clock. We’re getting close to the start of a great weekend of high school football.
Welcome to chilly and snowy Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium! December has arrived and with it comes the snow. Cincinnati Anderson and Avon are getting set to play what should be a memorable game in the elements tonight. We will have live updates right here when the game begins in just a few minutes.
Anderson advanced to Canton after Justice Burnam’s 1-yard TD run with 33 seconds left lifted the Raptors to a 28-24 win in the state semifinal over Big Walnut, which had upset the defending state champion Massillon Tigers the previous week.
Avon advanced by by defeating Archbishop Hoban 35-10, win snapping a five-game losing streak against Hoban in the state semifinals within the last eight years. Avon is in the state finals for the first time since 2011.
Anderson is 28-2 over the last two years, with its one loss coming to Massillon in last year’s state semis when the Tigers rolled 55-7 on their way to winning a state championship. The Raptors are averaging 47.5 points and 461.8 yards per game this season. Anderson won the 2007 state title in Division II (beating Louisville 31-25) and were the state runners-up in the division a year later.
The Eagles had lost in the state semifinals six times since 2017 (five times to Hoban and once to Massillon) before breaking through this time. They are in the state finals for the first time since 2011 when they lost to Trotwood-Madison in the Division II title game. Avon coach Mike Elder played for Larry Kehres at Mount Union and is 201-31 at the school, with an overall record of 251-54. Avon is seeking its first state title.
The Division II state title game between Avon and Anderson will be televised on Spectrum News 1. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
In addition to airing on TV on Spectrum News 1, the showdown between these two unbeaten squads can be streamed using the Spectrum News App or via OHSAA.tv.
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