Fall Football 2023: Game 4 Recap

Written by Logan Glass '25

Shall I begin by saying “Another one bites the dust”? Avon Old Farms made its way to Lakeville, Conn., to face the Hotchkiss Bearcats on Saturday. Head Coach Jon Wholley had a goal to continue the team’s momentum with the help of assistant coaches Ian Bomely ’14, Carty Campbell, Griffin Doyle, Shelton Magee, Mickoy Nichol ’14, Luke Rumley, Paul Pasqualoni, and Matt Proffitt. They certainly did not disappoint and continued their streak to what is now 4-0 on the season. This game also highlighted a lot of young players as they too had the opportunity to help build on the lead. 

On the first drive of the game Kharon “Buck” Craig ’26 and postgrad Brandon Hutchinson ’24 got the ball inside the Bearcat’s five-yard line. What looked like a QB sneak, Ryan Puglisi ’24 rose up and dumped it over the top to TE Kristian Strong ’24 for the first score of the game. Cameron Stewart ’26 kicked the extra point making it 7-0. Defensively, postgrad Carson Klein ’24 forced a fumble from Hotchkiss and recovered it for Avon. It only took one play for Puglisi to connect with junior Rafferty McSweeney ’25 for a touchdown. Avon found itself with a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter. A huge contributor to the success in not only this game but also the season as a whole is the offensive line: seniors Zack Gluckman ’24 and Jack Hines ’24 have protected Puglisi well all season.

The Avon defense didn’t allow Hotchkiss’s offense to get into any sort of rhythm. Defensive tackle Duncan McPherson ’25 got a massive sack deep in Hotchkiss territory. After the punt, AOF had the ball. The first play of this drive, Puglisi connected with KeShawn Adams ’24 on a six-yard hitch, and Adams used his athleticism to elude a few defenders and gained 43 yards running the ball into Bearcat territory. With the help of a pass caught by Strong, the Avon offense ended up at the two-yard line. From here, Puglisi kept it and punched it in the end zone for another six points. After the good PAT Avon went up big: 21-0. Once the Bearcats got the ball again, the Avon defense kept the pressure on. Strong in particular got deep into the pocket for a sack on the last play of the first quarter.

Immediately in the second quarter, Avon got the ball back and slowly made their way down the field again into Hotchkiss territory. To cap off this offensive drive, McSweeney caught a swing pass from Puglisi and ran it in for another Avon touchdown–his second of the afternoon. The PAT was good and the score was 28-0. This was all the scoring that would be done in the first half. 

The Bearcats had the ball to start off the second half. After a pass went through the hands of a Hotchkiss receiver, Owen Moreland ’25 caught it for an interception. He stayed on the field for the offensive drive and made an impactful run to get the team up to the Bearcats 15-yard line. After a few flags bringing Avon back, Puglisi launched a deep pass into the endzone and connected with Connor Cronin ’24 for another touchdown. The PAT was no good leaving the score 34-0. After a short offensive drive from Hotchkiss’s offense, the Winged Beavers made their way back to the field and Cronin, yet again, had a massive run for another touchdown. This time the PAT was good and the score was 41-0. 

At this point, Coach Wholley started to sub in the younger players. Austin Bourgoin ’26 had some time at QB and Griffin Mase ’27 got some varsity experience in the QB spot as well. Notably, Jordan Weaver ’25 scored the final touchdown for Avon in the fourth quarter. Following this, Cameron Stewart ’26 kicked his final PAT. The final score from Lakeville was 48-0 in this very one-sided affair.

Next weekend is a big one as the Winged Beavers host the Rhinos of Taft School. Avon has its Family Weekend and is not looking to disappoint. The Winged Beavers are excited to see all the support they can get next weekend to continue their undefeated season. At this point the Winged Beavers are 4-0.