Avon and Avon Lake renew rivalry in Regional Final

Avon/Avon Lake, Ohio (WOIO) - This is a rivalry where there is not bad blood. There is a ton of mutual respect between the coaches and programs. They truly believe they make each other better. “When I got here we set our goal to be just like them and try to surpass their level of performance,” said Avon coach Mike Elder. “They’ve made us better, I think we’ve made them better.”

It is amazing how two neighboring suburbs have so much talent. They have good coaching, but they also have good players. “Our communities do a great job of bringing the kids up,” said Avon Lake coach Matt Kostelnik. “The youth programs do a fantastic job, and the coaches there, I truly appreciate all the hard work and the volunteer hours that they do.”

Just like this year, last season they also met in the regional finals. Avon won that night 20-3. Earlier this year they played and again the Eagles won. It was 33-30, a hard fought win. “That was one of the best high school football games that I’ve been a part of,” said Elder. “We fell behind 24-7 at half time and to our kids credit they had a lot of belief. They just kept scratching and clawing.”

Kick off is this Friday night at 7:00 pm in Avon. When these two teams play it’s always one of the games of the year. When they play two times in a season, it’s twice as nice.

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