Football Recap: Game 1

By: Patrick Dallahan '23

The Jon Wholley era is up and running after a dominant week one victory. The Winged Beavers traveled to Kent for their season opener on Saturday, and it didn’t take long for them to show New England what they’re about.

On the very first play of the game, quarterback Ryan Puglisi ’24 connected with postgraduate runningback Luke Thorbahn ’23 on a short pass to the right, and Thorbahn did the rest with his legs, with 73 yards after the catch to position the Avon offense at the Kent 15-yard line. 

A few plays later, the first Winged Beaver touchdown of the year came from the legs of Puglisi himself, running in from five yards out, to give the Winged Beavers a very early lead—a lead they would not relinquish for the entire game.

On the very next drive, with great field position, the Avon Old Farms offense found itself near the endzone again, after a 17-yard run from Puglisi put the offense at the one.

To punch it in for six was freshman runningback Kharon “Buck” Craig ’26, who was able to record a touchdown on his very first high school carry, putting the Winged Beavers up two touchdowns, 14–0. Craig showed flashes of brilliance throughout the game, proving why he’s one of the highest recruited players in the Class of 2026.

On the third drive of the quarter, Puglisi delivered an absolute missile to Jackson Harper ’23 on 3rd & 7 for a 48-yard passing touchdown, with Harper juking a man on the sideline, and bringing it all the way to the house. Avon Old Farms led 21–0 heading into the second.

In the second quarter, it was more of the same for the Avon Old Farms offense, with Puglisi connecting with Benn Johnston ’23 on another frozen rope, finding his way into the endzone for another housecall, but the PAT was blocked by Kent, leaving Avon Old Farms up 27–0. 

Later on in the quarter, Puglisi found himself in the endzone, once again with his legs, proving to everyone that he can run the ball just as well as he can throw it. Puglisi finished with 170 yards passing on 7/11 attempts, with two passing and two rushing touchdowns, the second of which putting Avon Old Farms up 34–0. That would be all the scoring Avon would do in the first half. 

To start the second half, the Winged Beaver offense marched down the field, all the way to the one-yard line, for Luke Thorbahn to punch his way into the endzone for his first Avon Old Farms touchdown, putting the Winged Beavers up 41–0. Thorbahn and Craig combined for 65 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, good for 5.4 yards per carry.

As impressive as the Winged Beaver offense was, the defense was right there with them. Eric Lindstrom ’23 led the way with a sack and multiple tackles for loss. But the rest of the defensive line was not far behind, with Benedict Umeh ’24 and Kevin Nizolek ’23 causing mayhem for the Kent offensive line.

Locking up the secondary behind the line, the defensive backs did an outstanding job of preventing the pass. In total, the defense allowed 17 completions in total, many of which came in the fourth quarter. 

Jon Wholley could be heard yelling for those to come into the game if they did not have the chance earlier, expressing that getting in-game experience for young guys is crucial. 

The Kent offense found its way to the endzone twice in the fourth quarter, putting up 13 points on a rushing and passing TD, respectively. 

As the final buzzer sounded, the Winged Beavers walked away with their first win of the season, by a final score of 41–13. In the locker room, there was a short period of celebration, but the win is now behind them.

This week, they shift their focus to the next opponent: defending champion Loomis Chaffee Pelicans. Loomis makes their way to Miss Riddle’s Village this Saturday in the heavyweight bout of all heavyweight bouts, for a 7 p.m. kickoff on the brand new Ryan Field.