Published: October 30, 2009 11:55 pm      

Avon shocks No. 8 Pike

INDIANAPOLIS — Goal line moments can be game deciders during the IHSAA football tournament.

Friday night, the Avon Orioles had goal line situations at the conclusion of both halves — one for the offense and one for the defense. Both outcomes came up in the Orioles’ favor as Avon stopped Class 5A eighth-ranked Pike 10-7 at Pike High School in a Sectional 6 semifinal matchup.

After fighting both the host Red Devils and a driving rainstorm and winds for nearly four quarters, it took the Orioles’ brilliant defensive four-play stand from Avon’s 5-yard-line to finally get a result.

The Red Devils, who took their final possession without any timeouts, had the pressure on as a quick receiver screen pass to Jeffrey Harmon drew Pike tantalizingly close to the Avon end zone.

But, the Red Devils tried four times to surge Cameron Crabtree across the goal line, and were denied all four times. Two plays got the ball to the one, but the Orioles’ Taje High came around the right side of the line made the final stop for a 1-yard loss on fourth down and just eight seconds on the clock.

One snap later, the Orioles were finally free to celebrate their second big tournament win in a row.

Avon coach Dave Shelbourne was quick to share credit — sending defensive coordinator Scott Williams to take a bow for his unit’s big stand.

“I was watching the clock in unison with the play going on — to get that done was pretty amazing,” Williams said. “Taje is our defensive leader, and he came around the corner on the blitz (on fourth down). But, it was everybody and just great team defense.”

But, equally important to the final score was the way Avon took advantage of Crabtree’s fumble at Pike’s six-yard line at the end of the first half. The Orioles needed all four downs, including three attempts from the Red Devils’ one-yard line, before Darren Oliver squeezed into the end zone with just 7.6 seconds left in the first half.

Shelbourne admitted his team didn’t shine at all moments, but the Orioles did step up to the game’s biggest situations.

“We played well enough tonight to allow our defense to win the game for us,” Shelbourne said. “We made the plays we had to, but we weren’t always pretty doing it. We’re just happy and lucky to have come out with the win.”

The Orioles pulled out their victory despite gaining just 111 total yards of offense. Though Pike ended the night with nearly double that output (213 total yards), the Red Devils didn’t match Avon on the game’s biggest plays.

Oliver’s touchdown may have been the biggest offensive play of the night, especially given the extreme weather of the first half. And, obviously the goal line stand at the end was the game’s biggest defensive play.

However, the Orioles were also able to claim the game’s biggest special teams play as Trevor Schmidt’s 32-yard field goal — a kick made into the strong winds — proved to the be the game-winning points with 7:31 left to play.

Pike finally started showing some offensive life after being shut out for first downs in the opening half. The Red Devils picked up nearly 50 yards on their first possession of the second half before going 74 yards in five plays as Grant Kitcoff connected with Dyjuan Lewis on a quick out pattern for an 11-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

But, that was it for Pike on the scoreboard. For Avon, that means playing another week.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the way these kids have hung in there,” Shelbourne said. “We’ve had our ups and downs and lost some tough games. But the last two weeks, I couldn’t ask any more from them.”

The Orioles, now 5-6 on the year, will return home next Friday to host the Sectional 6 championship game against archrival Brownsburg, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.