Less than 30 seconds remained in a bitterly fought first half and the Terriers were about to go to halftime locked in a 6-6 tie with Avon. With a second-and-18 from his own 48, all that was left for Fritz to do was air one out.

As he checked off his receivers, there was tight end Eric Szczygiel completely alone 35 yards downfield. Szczygiel snared Fritz's pass and carried it to the 1.

Fritz scored what would be the game-winning touchdown on a quarterback sneak Saturday night to propel the Terriers to a 27-6 victory over the winless Falcons in a Nutmeg League encounter at McVicar Field.

Neither team had generated much offense prior to Szczygiel's 52-yard catch-and-run. The momentum it inspired gave the Terriers (2-4, 2-4 Nutmeg) the jolt they needed to make their homecoming a success.

"It's definitely one of our best plays because we have so many options," said Fritz, a second-year starter as a junior. "We have four receivers going out there and they can't cover them all. I always throw to the running back coming out of the back side, but this time I looked to the tight end who I rarely throw to and he was wide open."

Fifteen seconds remained in the half. Fresh in Fritz's memory was a dynamic goal-line stand that Avon (0-5, 0-5) staged in the first quarter when it repelled three straight plays from the 1. This time, he used a quick count and caught the Falcons on their heels. Rocky Hill went to intermission with a 13-6 edge.

The play was called by Rocky Hill assistant and the quarterback's father Larry Fritz.

"He said to use a play-action pass and look for Szczygiel," Rocky Hill head coach Dave Coyne said. "They were ignoring him and he spotted it."

Avon's defense played an otherwise stellar first half and head coach Tim Feschler attributed the blown coverage to a youthful error.

"We had them where we wanted them," Feschler said. "We just had a breakdown. We had a young kid in there and we had a defensive bust. It hurt. ..It was tough to come back from that but I still felt we had a chance."

Two things deterred the Falcons' comeback plans: turnovers and the offensive prowess of Hill's senior back Adam Todaro.

Avon turned the ball over five times, four in the second half. Todaro scored two touchdowns, the second coming on an electrifying 95-yard trip around left end to give the Terriers a 20-6 lead with 6:51 left in the third quarter. Blocks by guard Adam Szeps and back T.J. Green sprung Todaro, who amassed 154 yards on 17 carries.

"Todaro's a good, strong running back and he showed that he has some speed on that play," Coyne said.

The Terriers' final touchdown was equally stunning. Wide receiver Jeff Courneen was on the receiving end of a double-reverse handoff. When the Avon defense reacted to the run, Courneen stopped and lofted a pass to Brent Towle on a play that covered 62 yards. Fritz made a key block to keep the Avon rush from disturbing Courneen.

The game was a big lift for Hill, which didn't feel its record fairly represented how the team has played thus far.

"We're still hurting ourselves, making some new-team mistakes -- procedure penalties and unnecessary (illegal) blocks that hurt us -- but the kids played an inspired game and I'm proud of them," Coyne said. We were just bigger than them up front and that's what it came down to."

The Falcons grabbed the early lead when sophomore linebacker Mike McCann picked up a fumbled and rumbled 54 yards on the game's fourth play. Halfback Joe Friedhoff gained 105 yards on 11 carries to lead Avon offensively.

Ken Lipshez can be reached at Klipshez@newbritainherald.com or by calling (860) 225-4601, ext. 222.