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Ohio high school football playoffs | Archbishop Hoban vs Avon score | Knights rally to win

brad bournival and michael beaven, akron beacon journal
·10 min read

Rivals Archbishop Hoban and Avon will met Friday night in a Division II state semifinal at Parma Byers Field. Hoban beat Walsh to win in Region 5 to reach this game. Avon beat Highland to win in Region 6. This was the fifth state semifinal between the two in the last seven years, with Hoban winning again to advance to another state championship game. The Knights will face another familiar playoff opponent, Massillon, in the title game in Canton.

Here's how the game unfolded Friday night through our live updates on the matchup:

Hoban survives scare to reach its fourth state title in a row

A 44-yard field goal from Owen Warrick fell short and the Knights held on to beat Avon 17-14.

It's the fifth state semifinal the Knights have won in five tries.

Heck of a game from both teams.

Hoban’s Rickey Williams celebrates after Avon missed a game-tying field goal attempt late in the Division II state semifinal, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, in Parma.
Hoban’s Rickey Williams celebrates after Avon missed a game-tying field goal attempt late in the Division II state semifinal, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, in Parma.

Avon marching on Hoban with less than a minute left

The Eagles moved the ball to the Hoban 30. They're down 17-14 with 39 seconds left and face second-and 14.

Avon holds strong against Hoban

The Eagles forced an incompletion on its own 25 to take over. They have 75 yards to go down 17-14 with 1:59 left.

Hoban calls timeout after the first play. Avon has one timeout remaining.

Hoban holds strong in the fourth quarter against Avon

The Knights defense gave up a first down, but then held strong against the Eagles. Hoban is up 17-14 with the ball on its own 38-yard line with 7:39 left.

Hoban takes the lead against Avon in the OHSAA Division II state semifinal

Xavier Williams rushed for 22 yards and then Caleb Jones rushed for 14 yards and 2 yards to give Hoban a 17-14 lead with 10:17.

Jones hit paydirt on a run up the middle to give Hoban it's first lead of the night.

Sophomore with a big pick for Hoban to start the fourth against Avon

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Elbert Hill jumped a pass from Matt Maxey and returned it 16 yards to the Avon with 11:55 left in regulation.

Hoban trails 14-10 in the Division II state semifinal.

Avon leads Hoban 14-10 through three quarters in OHSAA Division II football state semifinal

Avon senior Jakorion Caffey take a direct snap and runs one yard to get a first down.

Avon has the ball on its own 45-yard line. Third quarter comes to an end,

Hoban trims deficit to 14-10 against Avon in second half of OHSAA Division II football state semifinal

Hoban senior Xavier Williams runs 39 yards for a touchdown and freshman Jeremey Hammel kicks the extra point.

Eagles lead Knights 14-10 with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter.

Avon leads Hoban 14-3 in second half of OHSAA Division II football state semifinal

Avon senior Jakorion Caffey breaks loose for a 66-yard run and then a 6-yard touchdown run. Owen Warrick makes the extra point kick.

Eagles lead Knights 14-3 with 8:17 to go in the third quarter.

Hoban drive stalls to open second half in OHSAA Division II football state semifinal

Caleb Jones ran for 12 yards on the the first two plays of the second half, but Hoban's possession ended with a no gain by Brayton Fesiter.

Avon-Hoban halftime stats of the Division II state semifinal

Avon 7, Hoban 3

Avon 27 plays 115 yards.

13 carries, 45 yards (Caffey 9 carries, 37 yards).

Blake Elder 6-of-14, 75 yards, TD (Matt Maxey 3 catches, 53 yards, TD)

Hoban 27 plays, 137 yards

Brayton Feister 10 carries, 53 yards

Tylan Boykin 4-of-10, 34 yards (Jackson Callaway 2 catches, 15 yards).

Hoban had the ball three times inside the 50 and two times inside the 20 and scored just the field goal before the break.

Hoban avoids first half shutout with 25-yard field goal at the horn

The Knights drove 43 yards and finally made good on a drive inside the 50. It ended with Jeremy Hammel splitting the uprights on a 25-yard field goal.

Avon leads 7-3 at the break.

Hoban stalls for the second time inside the 50 against Avon

The Knights pushed to the 34-yard line, but a Hoban false start and sack by Avon's Jacob Godlewiski snuffed the drive out.

Avon still leading 7-0 with 3:35 left before the break.

Tylan Boykin picked off right after Avon scores in OHSAA state semifinal

Hoban's second play after the Avon score turned into a turnover when Connor Rowlison jumped a route for Tayte Crable to give the Eagles first-and-10 on the Hoban 26.

It's 7-0 Avon with 7:30 left before the break.

Knights stood their ground to avoid further damage.

Avon strikes first in OHSAA Division II state semifinal against Hoban

The Eagles marched 63 yards in eight plays to take the lead.

Matt Maxey caught a 17-yard out in the right corner of the end zone to cap off a drive that took 2:53.

The Knight botched the kickoff and start on the 6-yard line.

Hoban and Avon scoreless in OHSAA Division II football state semifinal

Hoban marched down to the Avon 6-yard line, but two penalties and a missed 28-yard field goal prevented the Knights from scoring. The drive went for 54 yards.

Xavier Williams opened the drive with a 28-yard run and Brayton Feister had three carries for 15 yards.

Avon football players to watch

  • Offensive tackle Luke Hamilton; 6-6, 299, sr. Committed to Michigan; has scholarship offers from Akron, Ball State, Boston College, Boston College, Cincinnati, UConn, Duke, Iowa State, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Miami (Ohio), Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, Tennessee, Toledo and West Virginia. Northeast Lakes Offensive Player of the Year

  • Safety Carson Canning; 5-11, 180, sr. Has 75 tackles, two forced fumbles, eight pass breakups and four interceptions. Northeast Lakes Defensive Player of the Year.

  • Running back Jakorion Caffey; 5-10, 200, sr. Committed to Cincinnati. Has offers from Akron, Boston College, Bowling Green, Indiana, Kent State, Maryland, UMass, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Pitt, Syracuse, Toledo, and West Virginia. 179 carries, 1,411 yards, 23 touchdowns. First-team All-Northeast Lakes

  • Offensive guard Matt Muir; 6-2, 255, sr. Key to offense that averages 203.5 yards on the ground and 400.1 yards per game on offense. First-team All-Northeast Lakes

  • Wide receiver Matt Maxey; 5-9, 165, jr. 70 receptions, 1,074 yards, 8 touchdowns. First-team All-Northeast Inland

  • Safety Connor Rowlinson; 6-2, 200, sr. 67 tackles, 6 pass breakups, 2 interceptions, quarterback pressure. First-team All-Northeast Lakes

  • Wide receiver Cole Kepner. 16 catches, 375 yards, 6 touchdowns. Second-team All-Northeast Lakes

  • Kicker Owen Warrick; 5-8, 135, jr. Average hangtime on punts is 3.64 with a big boot of 55 yards; Second-team All-Northeast Lakes

  • Linebacker Cole Paonessa; 6-2, 190, sr. Part of defense that has 19.5 sacks, 46.5 tackles for loss and 89 quarterback pressures Second-team All-Northeast Lakes

  • Defensive end Jack Hricovec, 5-9, 240; Committed to Toledo. Part of defense that has 19.5 sacks, 46.5 tackles for loss and 89 quarterback pressures. Second-team All-Northeast Lakes

  • Cornerback Jakob Weatherspoon; 6-0, 175, so. Has offer from Michigan. Second-team All-Northeast Lakes

  • Nose guard Jeremiah Kelly; 6-2, 275, jr. Honorable mention All-Northeast Lakes

  • Linebacker Owen Garcia; 5-10, 190, jr. Honorable mention All-Northeast Lakes

  • Defensive end Sam Toniolo; 6-4, 217. 6 sacks, 23 quarterback pressures. Honorable mention All-Northeast Lakes

  • * Quarterback Nolan Good was a first-team All-Northeast Lakes selection and is the Southwestern Conference Player of the Year, but will be out with a broken collarbone

Archbishop Hoban football players to watch

Hoban running back Xavier Williams brushes off a tackle by Walsh Jesuit's Aiden Henry in a Division II regional final Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.
Hoban running back Xavier Williams brushes off a tackle by Walsh Jesuit's Aiden Henry in a Division II regional final Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.

  • Offensive tackle William Satterwhite; 6-3, 302, sr. + 93% grade out as a blocker, 29 pancakes, committed to the University of Tennessee; has 32 scholarship offers including Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Cincinnati, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Clemson and Tennessee. Northeast Inland co-Offensive Player of the Year

  • Defensive tackle Jordan Pritchard-Sewell; 6-1, 280, sr. + 16 sacks, 5 caused fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 1 safety, 26 TFLs, 56 tackles, committed to Holy Cross University over Fordham, Army, Navy, Air Force, Kent State, Akron, Columbia, UAB, Temple, Colgate, Yale and Indiana State. Northeast Inland co-Defensive Player of the Year

  • Cornerback/wide receiver/kick returner Elbert Hill IV; 5-11, 165, soph. + 6 interceptions, 3 TDs, 26 tackles, 1 sack, 10 carries, 227 yards, 2 TDs, 2 receptions, 47 yards 1 TD, 3 kickoff return TDs, 15 scholarship offers, including Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Colorado, Miami (Florida). First-team All-Northeast Inland.

  • Linebacker Eli Lee; 6-2, 220, jr. + 1 interception, 1 TD, 86 tackles, 9 sacks, 3 caused fumbles, 2 safeties, committed to Ohio State University. First-team All-Northeast Inland

  • Linebacker Rickey Williams; 6-2, 235, sr. + led team with 93 tackles, 2 caused fumbles, committed to West Virginia University, has 17 college scholarship offers. West Virginia, Indiana, Kent State, Toledo and Marshall were his top five schools that offered a scholarship. First-team All-Northeast Inland

  • Defensive end Devin Bell; 6-1, 235, sr. + 18 sacks 22 TFLs, 61 tackles, committed to Miami of Ohio. First-team All-Northeast Inland

  • Safety/Punt returner Tysen Campbell; 5-11, 175, sr. + 6 interceptions, 3 TDs, 53 tackles, 3 punt returns for TDs, Central Michigan University recruit, has 16 college scholarship offers … all of the MAC schools offered as well as Michigan and Kentucky among others. First-team All-Northeast Inland

  • Punter/Place kicker Ryan Burns; 6-1, 155, sr. + 47-yard average per punt … 11 inside the 5-yard line … 80% of his kickoffs go in the end zone. First-team All-Northeast Inland

  • Quarterback Tylan Boykin, jr. + 79-of-119 passing, 1,103 yards, 13 TDs, 2 interceptions, 68% completion rate, 41 carries for 416 yards, 4 TDs. Honorable mention All-Northeast Inland.

  • Center Nate Cross, jr. + 92% grade out, 26 pancakes, limited to 10 games because of injuries. First-team All-Northeast Inland

  • Offensive guard Jvon Lindsey, sr. + 90% grade out, 27 pancakes. Honorable mention All-Northeast Inland

  • Running back/Safety Caleb Jones, sr. + 149 carries, 1,000 yards, 16 TDs, 7.6 yards per carry, 5 receptions, 47 yards, 46 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 sacks in 11 games. First-team All-Northeast Inland

  • Wide receiver/Cornerback Payton Cook, soph. + 31 receptions, 407 yards, 13.1 yards per catch, 1 TD, 1/1 passing for 52 yards, 1 TD, 10 carries, 127 yards, 12.7 yards per carry, 32 tackles, 3 sacks. Second-team All-Northeast Inland

  • Linebacker/Defensive end Tanner Mintz, jr. +11 sacks, 1 int 1 TD, 22 tackles for loss. Second-team All-Northeast Inland

  • Wide receiver Jalen Hightower, sr. + 19 receptions, 327 yards, 5 TDs

Hoban has past success against Avon in OHSAA state semis

This will be the fifth time to the two met in the state semifinals.

Hoban holds wins in 2021, 2020, 2018 and 2017.

Two games have been played at Byers Field (2020-21) and two at Brunswick (2017-18).

Lamar Sperling scored with 1:47 left two seasons ago in a 31-24 Knights win. He finished with 270 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries.

Defense keyed a 28-14 win in 2020 where Hoban limited Avon to 56 yards rushing. They sacked Nino Pappas nine times and picked him off twice.

Tyris Dickerson (12 carries, 176 yards, 2 TDs) and Chip Trayanum (6, 103, 2) paced the offense for Hoban in a 42-7 win in 2018.

The inaugural state semifinal saw Hoban win 30-6. Trayanum (8 carries, 117 yards, 2 TDs) and Dickerson (17, 75) led the way there.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hoban football score vs Avon live updates | OHSAA playoffs