Avonworth’s Andrew Broaddus slips through a hole created by Jake Szolis (left) and Brian Bartram (right) as the Antelopes held on through a tough fourth quarter to beat Beth-Center 28-20 at home last Friday night. After this non-conference game, the ‘Lopes will be on the road to play OLSH this weekend, then return home to host Northgate on Oct. 29. Photo by Tom Steiner for The Citizen

By JIM RUMBLE
For three and a half quarters it looked as though the Avonworth football team locked in on another dominating performance when they hosted Beth-Center in a non-conference game last Friday.
That was until the Antelopes surrendered two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter but managed to hang on to defeat the Buldogs 28-20.
"We just made too many mistakes, too many mental errors," said head coach Jason Kekseo.
The 'Lopes got a balanced offensive effort led by quarterback Brian Vales, who threw three TD passes with 197 yards through the air.
"Vales is probably one of the best quarterbacks in single A, or if not, in the Eastern conference," Kekseo said. "We put the ball in his hands and let him make decisions."
Ricky Lawniczak led the running attack with 171 yards rushing.
"Ricky ran hard...he's a violent runner," Kekseo said later.
Avonworth appeared to be in great shape after Beth-Center's game-opening possession ended with a sack by Eddie Kurtz and a poor punt on fourth down that allowed the 'Lopes offense to start from the Bulldog's 40-yard line. A holding penalty on the 'Lopes moved the ball back into Avonworth territory, but Vales completed a pass to Lawniczak for 36 yards down to the Beth-Center 17.
The Antelopes worked themselves into a 1st-and-goal at the 5-yard line, where the Bulldogs would make their stand. The possession ended with two successive quarterback sneaks coming up short inside the 1-yard line.
Avonworth obtained good field position again, but this time they would take full advantage. On first down from the Bulldog 34, Vales threw to Andrew Niklaus, who sidestepped a defender to complete the 34-yard TD.Elliot Miller converted on the extra point kick to put the Antelopes in front 7-0 .
The 'Lopes used a good mix of running and passing on their next possession to increase their lead. Key plays in the drive that started from the Antelope 36 were a 20-yard reception by Ryan Schmid, an 11-yard run by Lawniczak and a 13-yard reception by Jake Szolis. Szolis capped the nine-play drive with a 2-yard TD run.
The Bulldogs forced the 'Lopes to punt from their own end zone, with the return putting Beth Center on offense at the Avonworth 10. The Bulldogs ran the ball in from there, and with the conversion on the kick Avonworth led 14-7 with 5:22 left until halftime.
The ‘Lopes moved 74 yards in 10 plays for their next score. Lawniczak took most of the hand-offs, but the drive ended with a 22-yard TD run by Szolis.
The most costly mistake was a Beth-Center fumble. The Bulldogs started from their own 46 and worked the ball down to the Avonworth 10. They completed a pass on third down, but when the runner stretched to the end zone the ball came loose and rolled through the back of the end zone for a touchback.
Avonworth started the fourth quarter on defense and came up big again when Connor O'Donnell's sack on fourth down stopped a Beth-Center drive at the Avonworth 27. Four Lawniczak runs moved the ball to the Avonworth 44. Vales followed with a short pass to Szolis, who bolted the rest of the way to complete a 56-yard pass play for the touchdown. Miller's kick had Avonworth up 28-7 with 7:24 left to play.
Beth-Center capped their next possession with a 42-yard TD run and kick to trail 28-14 with 5:24 remaining. The Bulldogs got the ball back with 1:50 left and moved 90 yards in four plays, ending the drive with a 12-yard TD run to trail 28-20 with :45 left on the clock.