On the morning of April 22, Avon informed families of the unexpected death of All-Ohio offensive lineman Jeremiah Kelly.

Avon mourns the loss of All-Ohioan offensive lineman Jeremiah Kelly, who has passed away.

“The Bearcats football family is heartbroken by the sudden loss of this outstanding young man,” Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield said. “In the short time Jeremiah has spent with our team, he has made a real impact, both on the field in in our locker room. My prayers are with the Kelly family and those who had the pleasure of knowing Jeremiah.”

We are mourning the loss of @GoBearcatsFB freshman Jeremiah Kelly, who passed unexpectedly at his residence early Tuesday morning.

Our hearts are with the Kelly family as well as Jeremiah's friends and teammates.

Kelly (Class of 2025) was one of Avon’s eight captains who led the Eagles to their first Division II state championship in 2024.

Avon Local Schools sent an email informing everyone, labeling it as “a heartbraking loss for Avon.”

“It is with great sadness that we share with you the news of the death of an Avon student Jeremiah Kelly,” Avon Superintendent Ben Hodge said. “Jeremiah was a senior at our high school. As we know from past tragedies, no words can console or explain what the student’s family and our Eagles must be experiencing.”

On the day before a 20-13 win against Cincinnati Anderson at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he signed his National Letter of Intent to play Division I college football at Cincinnati.

“The Avon community is devastated by the tragic loss of Jeremiah (Kelly),” Avon coach Mike Elder said on X. “He was a beloved son, brother, classmate and teammate. His contagious positive energy lit up every room and everyone who ever met him loved him. Words cannot express our grief.”

He was enrolled to attend Cincinnati in January and joined Eagles teammate Jakorion Caffey.

“We’ve suffered a heartbreaking loss today,” Cincinnati Director of Athletics John Cunningham said. “All of us at UC send out love and prayers to the Kelly family and we will do everything that we can to support them and our Bearcats student-athletes in the difficult days and weeks ahead.”

According to Cincinnati’s press release, he passed away at his residence April 22.

Kelly started on both sides of the ball for Avon. After finishing his junior year only on defense, he received an offer from the Bearcats to swap to the other side of the trenches.

As Avon went 16-0 (7-0 SWC), Kelly was named Division II first-team All-Ohio and won the Lorain County Offensive Lombardi Award.

A GoFundMe was set up and received hundreds of donations, with the goal of reaching $30,000.

Mark Wahlberg Stadium and Avon's locker room was open from 12 to 5 p.m. for staff, students and parents to gather.

“My favorite memory this year was when we started our season at the Cleveland Browns Stadium and defeated St. Ignatius. Throughout the season, we faced some challenges. In the preseason, we had a problem with first-time varsity players getting used to the high-intensity of Avon football, but we fixed this problem by building up our brotherhood and trusting each other and coaches. In the nonconference games, we had an extremely bad weather game against Glenville. It was hard to move the ball but we overcame this with continuing to play the next play and staying together. During the SWC title run, the O-line was challenged by the coaching staff and players to get better. We overcame this by getting better every day at practice, watching more film as a unit and we took it personally. Throughout the regular season, we showed why The Moving Company was the best offensive line in the state. In the second round of playoffs, we were challenged by our rival, Olmsted Falls. They took a lead of 21-7 in the first quarter. We overcame this by not getting scared. We started to play shutdown defense and performed on offense to make the score, 28-21, at halftime. We ended up winning, 52-35.

“Throughout my football career, I’ve learned a lot about how to be a leader on and off the field. Being a leader in my community is such an honor and I am glad so many people look up to me and trust me. I also learned that hard work is the most important thing in getting better and also having teammates push you always help.

"Winning the state championship this year meant the world to me and also all of Avon. I remember after losing to Hoban last year the only thing I could think of was how we are going to win state next year. This season, everyone bought in and worked hard towards this goal. We defeated the best teams in the state to reach the last game. But what made me realize I just wasn’t playing for my brothers on the football team was when we did a drive around Avon before we left for Canton. We saw support from all of Avon and it was special to see. Later, we won that game in a nail-biter in the last 8 seconds of the game. Celebrating with my teammates afterwards was a wild round of emotions, because it felt like we completed an 18-year task of winning Avon’s first state championship. Also, seeing all the alumni made the win even more special.

"I want to thank the Avon coaching staff for changing me as an athlete and person. Coach (Jared) Ceccehti taught me so much discipline and the importance of grinding out hard days. He’s transformed my body and I’m very grateful for what he did for me and so many other athletes. Second, I’d like to thank my freshman year coach, Coach J. I wasn’t the best player freshman year but he continued to be positive with me and told me about my potential. Lastly, I would like to thank Coach Elder for creating such an amazing football program. It is an honor to play for Avon and also he’s such a mentor to me and all the other players."