Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Austintown Fitch gears up prior to kickoff against Ursuline earlier in the season. The Falcons welcome in the top ranked Division II program in the state tonight, Massillon.

AUSTINTOWN — With an unusual bye week mixed into the schedule, Austintown Fitch took the time off to lick its wounds following a 32-14 home loss to Ursuline. The Falcons took time to appreciate the things outside of the game a bit more as a community and used the time to recover from the first several contests.

Week 8 is now on the doorstep, and the Falcons find themselves welcoming in not just a great Massillon Washington team — but a historic one. The Tigers are ranked 16th in the nation on the High School Football America poll and No. 1 in the Division II Ohio AP poll.

Massillon owns the edge with an all-time record of 20-8 over the Falcons, a series that dates back to Oct. 4, 1985.

Falcons coach TJ Parker, a 2003 Fitch graduate, has seen plenty of strong teams on the gridiron over the years.

“This is a very, very special Massillon team. I can’t speak for times prior to me, but this team is built differently than I’ve seen a Massillon team in my time,” Parker said. “They have size, they have speed, they have offense, they have defense, they have special teams. They’re loaded, their defense is I believe to be the heart and soul of their team.”

“When you play a team from St. Ed’s that has two Ohio State commits and a Michigan commit and you only give up 53 yards rushing, it says a lot about who you are in the box.”

Fitch will look to gain some momentum with senior quarterback DeShawn Vaughn Jr. (86-132 passing, 1,041 yards, nine touchdowns, five interceptions, 206 yards rushing on 44 carries), along with senior running back DJ Williams (101 carries, 438 yards, eight touchdowns) and freshman running back Deon’Dray Richard (42 carries, 305 yards, six touchdowns).

Potential targets include senior Dan Evans III (38 receptions, 382 yards, four touchdowns), senior Dom Perry (14 receptions, 331 yards, one touchdown), and sophomore Brady Evans (nine receptions, 95 yards, three touchdowns).

On defense, the likes of junior Rocco DiFlorio (62 tackles, 11.5 for a loss, 4.5 sacks), senior Davoin Pritchard (23 tackles, 1.5 for a loss) and sophomore Demar Rodgers (28 tackles, 2.5 for a loss) look to stop Massillon QB DaOne Owens, one of the top players in the state.

Other standouts on the Tigers roster include 24/7 Sports Top 100 class prospects such as senior Chase Bond (NC State commit) and juniors Nolan Davenport and Jaezen Lewis.

Against a Tigers team chalked full of Division I recruits, it’s important to not to lose focus.

“At some points throughout the season you’re trying to find yourself and finding your team, and I think with us, it does start with us, but the message has been it’s an opportunity and it’s about our pride, Falcon pride,” Parker said. “Taking pride in what we do every day, taking pride preparing, taking pride playing in these games, and taking pride in representing Fitch in these games.

“We’ve talked about self-pride, team pride, family pride, all of that. It’s Senior Night, so we’ve been really driving him the idea of just pride in all we do.”

During the bye week, Fitch took the opportunity to build some memories, spending time with all three levels of the Falcon youth football program, along with a movie being shown on the jumbotron at the stadium for the seniors and the cheerleaders.

“It’s just one of those things, it reminds you that football teaches you a lot of lessons and when you’re in the grind of things, winning is a major priority at Austintown Fitch, and you’re playing in big games, and you want to win them all and there’s that constant pressure and constant push to execute at that level,” Parker said. “However, having the breathing room, it gets back to just saying, ‘Hey, it is more than football.’

“Inside the game of football we’re learning life lessons that we hope stay with us forever, but we’re also making memories that’ll last a lifetime with our group and our family of football and cheerleaders and youth, that these kids will never forget.”

sports@vindy.com