Falcons soar past Warren Harding
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AUSTINTOWN -- Much like last year's shutout at Mollenkopf Stadium, Austintown Fitch dominated rival Warren G. Harding to close the regular season Friday.
The streaking Falcons earned their eighth straight win overall and their seventh in the last eight games against the Raiders with a one-sided, 49-7 victory at Greenwood Chevrolet Falcon Stadium.
"We knew Warren was gonna come out playing hard, and I just challenged our guys to play clean and match the intensity from the beginning of the game but keep our heads throughout," Fitch coach TJ Parker said. "And I thought they did a good job of executing in all three phases: special teams, defensively and offensively. Early, I think our defense really stepped up. They gave us some different looks ... and it took us a little time to get adjusted to that. But we started swarming the ball. And then offensively, we’ve been a well-oiled machine the past few weeks, so it was nice to see us get the job done there."
A 15-yard run by Harding quarterback James Jones on the second play of the game proved to be one the biggest gains of the first half for the Raiders. Additionally, immediately afterward, they committed a false start and a holding before Tyreek Lindsey came free off the edge to sack Jones.
Following the 47-yard Jaron Edmonds punt, the Falcons advanced the ball down the field quickly.
On the second play of the drive, Collin Kalaher connected with Al-Tahire Iluono for a 50-yard completion. Deon’Dray Richard then picked up 32 yards on the ground, setting up a 3-yard rushing touchdown by backfield duo Dyionn Tutwiler.
A Harding three-and-out followed, as did a horsecollar penalty on the Raiders that gave Fitch the ball on the Harding 45-yard line.
Then, Richard broke off another big run, although, this time, he broke tackles, barreled through defenders and took it all the way into the end zone for a touchdown, putting the Falcons ahead 14-0 just over five minutes into the game.
The Raiders began to find success offensively with a combination of quick screen passes and runs by Jones and Matthew Richardson. However, after breaching the Fitch 35, a low, off-target throw by Jones resulted in the first turnover of the game when Isaiah Porch came up with the interception.
Harding's mistakes continued and compounded on the subsequent drive after a series-opening flip sweep picked up more than 30 yards. The Falcons wiped out a positive play with a holding penalty on the next play, only for Harding to be whistled for offsides and facemask, setting up Fitch inside the 10.
Tutwiler then ran it in from 8 yards out, scoring his second touchdown of the game and giving the Falcons a 21-0 lead with 2:37 left to play in the first quarter.
"We dug ourselves in a hole," Harding head coach Matt Richardson said. "They got a pretty good offense, really good running backs. You can’t dig yourselves in a hole against quality teams."
On the final play of the quarter, Vincenzo DiFlorio sacked Jones, effectively backing Harding up before a fourth-down attempt, which failed despite Jones completing a pass to Asa Burch.
Richard could have added a 65-yard rushing touchdown to his night, but the run was called back due to holding. Instead, Richard earned a few first downs before the Falcons took a four-score lead with a 22-yard Kalaher touchdown pass to Wayne Holloway.
After the Fitch defense again forced a turnover on downs, the Fitch offense again negated a long rushing touchdown when Tutwiler scampered for a would-be 41-yard score was called back due to a penalty.
The drive, which had been extended by a fourth-down run by Kalaher, finished with a missed 46-yard field goal.
The next series would finish in the end zone, though, when Kalaher pump faked and lobbed a touchdown pass to a wide-open Iluono in the final minute of the half.
Richard, who opened the second half with a 33-yard run, then had a 36-yard score called back because of a penalty. Kalaher and Holloway were the beneficiaries, as they hooked up for a touchdown through the air shortly thereafter to pull ahead 42-0.
After Fitch replaced its starters, Burch picked off a pass, the Raiders scored their only touchdown of the game on the next play.
The Falcons' reserves extended the advantage back to 42 on their final drive.
With the loss, Harding finishes the regular season 4-6. The Raiders entered Week 10 sitting in the 12th and final spot in Division II, Region 5, just ahead of North Royalton and Youngstown.
Meanwhile, Fitch is now 8-1 and enters the postseason on an eight-game win streak. The Falcons, who had the second seed in Division I, Region 1, in the penultimate rankings, will receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
"The regular season’s over. We got to turn the page," Parker said. "We have a whole new season, a whole new life ahead of us. It’s something we got to focus on now.
"We'll give them the weekend off, give them some time to rest and get back Monday and get after it. But we’ve been fortunate enough to be here several times in the last few years. So these guys know what it’s like. But the interesting thing is we’re now in Region 1, Division I. So it’s a lot of teams we don’t see, we don’t face. So everything’s new. ... And I think just to be able to share a couple more weeks with these seniors, that’s what’s special. And that’s what I told them; There's a lot of teams going home after tonight. And we get the chance to come back on Monday and work for something special and start a whole new season."