Noblesville falls to Avon, 35-21

Noblesville's Jacob Long (72) leads Gage Gulley (6) as Gulley makes a rush during the Millers' game at Avon Friday. Gulley would make a 30-yard scoring run for Noblesville in the first quarter. (Kent Graham)

Noblesville found itself on the wrong end of a comeback win Friday night, as the Millers fell to Avon 35-21 in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game at the Orioles’ field.
Noblesville led 21-0 early in the second quarter. Connor Meinerding got the Millers on the board with a 34-yard touchdown run with 9:25 left in the first period; Jack Letourneau made the extra-point kick. Later, Gage Gulley blasted off on a 30-yard run, then Alairic Rogers-Walton ran in a two-point conversion.
That gave Noblesville a 15-0 first-quarter lead, and Parker Bell added to that margin by pushing the ball in from the one-yard line. The Orioles came back to 21-14 by halftime, then tied the game at 21-21 going into the fourth quarter. Avon took the lead with two touchdowns in that period.
Meinerding finished the game with 80 yards rushing, while Rogers-Walton gained 65 yards rushing. Sam Steinhofer led the Millers’ defense with nine tackles, followed by Cameron Wilson with 6.5 stops and Tanner .
Noblesville finished HCC play 0-7 and is 2-7 overall. The Millers are off next week, then host Westfield on Friday, Oct. 29 in the semi-finals of Class 6A Sectional 4.

AVON 35, NOBLESVILLE 21

Score by Quarters
Noblesville 15 6 0 0 – 21
Avon 0 14 7 14 – 35

Team Stats NHS AHS
First Downs 20 19
By Rush 14 4
By Pass 1 12
By Penalty 5 3
Rushes-Yards 57-271 28-114
Yards Passing 26 237
Comp-Att-Int-TD 2-7-1-0 26-36-0-3
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-1
Penalties-Yards 5-55 16-151
Punts-Average 4-16.8 4-41.3

Noblesville Scoring
First Quarter
9:25 – Connor Meinerding 34-yard run (Jack Letourneau kick)
3:50 – Gage Gulley 30-yard run (Alairic Rogers-Walton run)
Second Quarter
9:07 – Parker Bell 1-yard run (run failed)

Noblesville individual stats
Rushing: Meinerding 6-80, Rogers-Walton 11-65, Gulley 13-48, Logan Shoffner 10-37, Bell 12-27, Blake Widget 4-10, Brayan Goméz-Sánchez 1-4.
Passing: Gulley 1-6-25, Meinerding 1-1-1.
Receiving: Aiden Brewer 1-25, Shoffner 1-1.