Avondale Football Victorious In Wild Homecoming Game Over Seaholm

AUBURN HILLS – Fans hoping to be entertained at the Avondale High School varsity football homecoming weren’t disappointed on Friday night.

Avondale and Seaholm played a wildly entertaining game in front of a packed crowd.

Yellow Jackets kicker Kyle Sroka hit a 34-yard field goal with 9:03 left in the fourth quarter to give his team a 29-26 lead.

Avondale’s defense made sure that was the final score by slamming the door shut on a Maples comeback attempt with a couple of tremendous plays in the final minutes.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Yellow Jackets head coach Steve Deutsch said. “We stopped the run all night. We gave up a couple of big pass plays, but other than that they were really the key to the game.”

Quarterback John Glazier had the Maples moving into field goal position after Avondale’s field goal. They had the ball first-and-10 at the 35-yard line with less than six minutes to go and only needed about 10 yards to get into field goal range.

That’s when the Yellow Jackets decided to bring some pressure.

“Our defense coordinator finally said listen we are not just going to sit back,” Deutsch said. “Lets just take it our of their hands.”

They blitzed on a third down pass attempt and Glazier had nowhere to go. He tried to throw it away as a defender had him wrapped up, but was called for intentional grounding. That forced Seaholm into a fourth-and-22 that it had to go for.

Avondale brought tremendous pressure for a second consecutive play. This time Chris Bracewell and Mitchel Williams brought Glazier down for the sack to give their team the ball with 4:34 to go in the game.

“We didn’t handle the pressure,” Seaholm coach Jim Pobursky said. “They brought some blitzes in our inside gaps and we just didn’t do the job of getting it taken care of.”

Seaholm only had one timeout remaining, so it needed to force a quick three-and-out. The defense had the Yellow Jackets facing a fourth-and-four with 1:53 to go, but quarterback Mitch Robinson was able to draw the Maples offside.

It was a costly penalty that gave Avondale the first down it needed to end the game.

“I think we made a lot of mistakes,” Pobursky said of his team’s 11 penalties. “A lot of penalties hurt us; not catching the ball at the right time hurt us and not making a tackle at the right time, all those things add up. That’s what cost us.”

And it will cost Seaholm in the Oakland Activities Association Blue division standings as well.

This was a pivotal division game for both teams, who started the night tied for second place at 2-1. The Yellow Jackets win helped them keep pace with Groves and Berkley at the top of the Blue while the Maples tumbled down to the middle of the pack.

Coming off a tough 23-20 loss to Ferndale, Avondale coaches didn’t shy away from stressing the importance of getting a win during practice this week.

“We told the kids no matter what happens the rest of the year, this is the game,” Deutsch said. “If we lose two in a row, after the start we had, our schedule doesn’t get any easier. This league is so tough and it’s so evenly balanced that it just doesn’t get easier.”

The tight race in Blue helps explain why both teams had a sense of urgency right out of the gate on Friday.

Avondale successfully attempted an onside kick in the first quarter. It scored on a 35-yard pass from Robinson to Jeff Douglas to take an early 7-0 lead then used the trick play to get the ball right back.

The Yellow Jackets almost went up two touchdowns, but their drive stalled in the red zone.

Seaholm used some aggressive play calling to get right back in it. Glazier hit J.D. Hess with a pass on a third-and-16. The senior receiver turned the play up field for an 85-yard touchdown and after a two-point conversion it was 8-7.

Three minutes later the two hooked up again on another third-and-long for a 25-yard touchdown pass to go up 15-7. The Maples wouldn’t score another touchdown until there was a 1:08 left in the third.

Avondale scored three unanswered touchdowns to come back and take a 26-15 lead.

Running back Michael Johnson had a 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and Robinson had one as well right before half time. Running back Henry Paul ran for a 63-yard touchdown three plays into the second half.

The Yellow Jackets lone turnover of the game set up a 31-yard touchdown pass from Glazier to Kai Czajka.

As expected, both quarterbacks were excellent. Robinson continues to show how much of a dual-threat he is. The senior ran for 158 yards on 17 carries and had a touchdown. He was 6-for-15 passing for 128 yards and also had a throwing touchdown.

Glazier was more proficient through the air. The senior was 14-for-23 for 313 yards passing and he finished with three touchdowns.

“It was a great game,” Deutsch said. “I hope the fans enjoyed, it was a little bit scary for us, but it was a good game for homecoming.”

It will be another big game for Avondale next week when it visits Groves on Friday at 7 p.m. The Falcons are riding a four-game win streak and a half game ahead of the Yellow Jackets in the standings. Seaholm will host Hazel Park on Friday at 7 p.m.