Avella gets first win, hurts Monessen’s playoff chances

MONESSEN – Owen English ran for two scores and caught a 32-yard go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter as Avella won its first game of the season, 18-16, over host Monessen in a Class A Tri-County South Conference game Friday night.
It is the second year in a row that Avella (1-6, 1-8) has defeated Monessen.
Monessen held a pair of leads, including 16-12 after a 66-yuard touchdown run by Elijah Davis with 1:36 left in the third quarter.
Avella, however, rallied for the game-winner on the Taylor-to-English pass with 4:39 remaining.
English scored on runs of one and six yards, the latter giving Avella a 12-8 lead late in the first half.
Lyndon Henderson opened the scoring by catching a 38-yard TD pass from Dawayne Howell.
The loss dropped Monessen to 1-5 in the conference and 2-7 overall. The Greyhounds can still make the playoffs with a win over Mapletown next week and a Fort Cherry victory over Jefferson-Morgan.