CORSICA — Class 9B No. 2 Avon shook off a sluggish start, wore down Corsica-Stickney and rolled to a 54-8 win in Friday high school football action.

The Pirates and Jaguars went scoreless in the first quarter, and Corsica-Stickney took an 8-0 lead early in the second quarter. But it was all Avon from there. 

“I would definitely say our effort, our effort in the start was kind of poor,” Avon defensive end/tight end Al’Shamon Gunter said about the slow start. “But we have to get rolling.”

After the first quarter, the Pirates (4-0) scored 54 unanswered points after Avon coach Justin Lukkes said the coaching staff harped on the team about the start. 

“We’ve had a little trouble with it early in the year, and I have been getting on them about it,” Lukkes said. “But we are going to have to figure that out because come playoff time, we can’t be doing that. The way we responded that’s what I am also very happy with.” 

After Corsica-Stickney’s Max Vanden Hoek connected with Braxton Truesdell for a 19-yard touchdown strike, the Pirates responded with three second-quarter touchdowns. Cale Cooper scored twice in the quarter, and Trenton Soukup punched in a touchdown. 

In the third quarter, Cooper scored a 50-yard touchdown run, Easton Sees broke loose for a 53-yard touchdown scamper and Cooper had another short touchdown plunge for a score. 

Avon’s Zander Fathke added a 15-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to reach the final margin. 

The avalanche for touchdowns showed off how balanced the Pirates are in the backfield. 

“They all have their strengths and we are just trying to figure out when to play them all and what best fits our team,” Lukkes said. 

But it also started up front for the Pirates, who have now outscored their opponents 202-28 this season.  

“We are very big up front and I tell them every week I was a lineman,” Lukkes said. “I am like ‘Boys you have to control that line of scrimmage. As big as we are, nobody should be pushing us around anywhere.’ ”

Gunter, a 6-foot-6, 220-pounder, helped the Pirates turn the tide at the line of scrimmage. Gunter, along with 6-foot-8, 200-pound Jaime Pelton, set the edge and Avon’s interior lineman also set the tone up front. 

“It was huge,” Gunter said. “Our guys started blocking. We started blocking to the whistle. Our effort was better and our whole team effort was just that much better. We got it switched around.”