CLEVELAND, OH - The Cats made the short trip through the flats to the shores of Lake Erie at Cleveland Browns Stadium this past Friday for their season opener against the Avon Eagles. The Eagles, a Division II powerhouse, came into the game ranked #5 in Ohio after their state semi-final run last year. Avon also returned multiple starters on each side of the ball, most notably senior quarterback Kent State commit Nolan Good. 

The Wildcats would receive to start off the 2024 season, where the Wildcat faithful would get their first look at junior quarterback Daniel Chalhoub and his offense. After the Wildcats were marked short on a third-down run by Daniel Chalhoub, they were left with fourth and less than a yard, where Head Football Coach Franzinger '02 elected to punt to give his defense room to work with. 

The Eagles' first offensive drive was methodic. A 36-yard run led by junior running back Cam Wendell left Avon knocking on the door of the red zone. From there, the Eagles would keep the ball on the ground and march closer to the endzone. Cam Wendell would break the threshold as he picked up Avon's first touchdown on a three-yard run. Following the extra point, the score was 7-0 in favor of the Purple and Gold, with 9:18 left in the first quarter. 

Avon's defense would force another three-and-out as the Cats were left a yard short on their third down push. Good and his offense had another efficient drive as they pushed into the red zone after a handful of third-down conversions. Again, on third down, Good would evade the pocket and find tight end Tyler Beerbomb in the back of the end zone for another touchdown, making the score 14-0 after the PAT with 1:11 left in the first quarter. 

The Cats would yet again be faced with a third down and short, where they would elect to hand off to senior running back Grant Washington, but he would be left a yard short, and the Cats were forced to punt yet again. 

The Eagles would start their third drive from their 37-yard line and use the field position advantage well. Avon would flip the field on second down as Good delivered a strike to senior wide receiver Matt Maxey between three Wildcat defenders. Good kept his foot on the gas, and on the next play, he took it 39 yards on a quarterback keeper to the Cats' seven-yard line. The Cats' defense was able to stop Quiante' Smith on two straight plays inside the five, but on the third consecutive carry, Smith would find paydirt, and the Eagles would extend their lead to three scores. With 9:08 left in the second quarter, it was Avon 21, Cats nothing. 

In dire need of a score the Cats offense finally found their footing. Washington started the drive with a 16-yard burst up the middle to get the Cats into Avon territory. Chalhoub then completed a pass to senior tight end Gavin Vollmer to give the Cats a much more manageable third down, but a third-down run by junior Owen Colwell left the Cats with yet another fourth and short. 

Coach Franzinger gave the offense the green light as it would be a QB keeper where Chalhoub put his shoulder down and picked up the first down. The Cats kept it rolling as a completion to Vollmer moved the sticks again. Then, on first and 15, after a Cats false start, Daniel Chalhoub found Luke Simms in the end zone between multiple defenders for the first touchdown of Chalhoub and Simms' varsity career as well as the first touchdown of the Wildcats 2024 campaign. 

The score was now 21-7 with 6:23 left in the first half. That would be all for scoring in the half as Avon's senior kicker, Owen Warrick, missed a last-minute 34-yard field goal wide left. 

Out of the half, Avon got right back to it as on second and 12, Nolan Good connected with senior wideout Cole Kepner on a 48-yard completion to set up shop inside Cats territory. Five plays later, the Eagles would land in the end zone yet again on a seven-yard run from senior running back Nick Colburn, making the score 28-7 Avon with 7:18 to go in the third quarter. 

The Cats would respond only a minute and a half later when Daniel Chaloub found Owen Colwell wide open on a wheel route to take it 34 yards to the house, cutting Avon's lead to just 14 with 5:36 left in the third. Both teams would exchange scores from there as Avon cashed in on an 11-yard rush from Tyler Kauffman with 11:55 to go in the game. 

Colwell would get his second touchdown of the day for the Wildcats on a four-yard rush, making the score 35-21 with 7:15 left in the game. With time slowing running out on the Cats, they were in dire need of a stop. 

The defense would stand strong, and Avon was forced to punt the ball away for the first time in the game. After a well-placed punt from Warrick, the Cats took over from inside their 10-yard line. In need of a first down on third-and-one, the Eagles sent the house on a Wildcats pass where Chaloub was strip-sacked at his three-yard line, ending the Cats' hopes of a comeback. 

Good would add insult to injury as he found the end zone on a keeper, making the score 42-21 with 1:03 left to go in the game. The Cats would bring in sophomore Dane Donovan to guide the Cats on their final drive, but time expired after just two plays. The Cats would drop the season opener 42-21 as they fall to 0-1. 

Chalhoub had a decent varsity debut, going 15-of-21 passing for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Colwell had a productive night on the ground, toting the rock seven times for 32 yards and recording a rushing and receiving touchdown. 

But the Eagles' rushing attack did the most damage on Friday. They rushed for 230 yards and found paydirt five times on the ground. 

The Cats are back in action next week against the Mentor Cardinals, a team they beat twice last season. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. from Don Shula Stadium on the campus of John Carroll University.