PREP FOOTBALL For Fitch, 10-0 is goal

Mooney will try to prevent Ursuline from winning the SVC outright.
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The drought is over.
With its 34-14 win over Uniontown Lake on Friday, the Austintown Fitch High football team did two things no Falcon team has done in a decade -- win a league title and earn a playoff berth.
Now the Falcons have a chance to do something no Fitch team has ever done -- finish undefeated.
"They're a near perfect team," said Lake coach Jeff Durbin.
The Falcons won their first nine games in 1983 before falling to Ursuline. Fitch (8-0, 5-0 Federal League), which last went to the playoffs in 1992, has already clinched a playoff berth and is closing in on a first-round home game.
The Falcons also earned a share of the Federal League title -- their first league crown since winning back-to-back Steel Valley Conference titles in 1992-93 -- and can win the title outright with a win over Canton GlenOak (5-3, 3-2) on Friday.
And, if the Golden Eagles are going to have a chance, they'll need to do something few teams have done -- solve Fitch's defense. Fitch's defense has allowed only 61 points with three shutouts, while the offense has scored 226.
"Teams have a lot of respect for us [because] they are going to pass more against us [and] are not trying to run the ball," said Fitch coach Neal Kopp.
SVC title shot
In the SVC, Ursuline (5-3, 1-0) can win its first outright league title since 1975 with a win against Mooney (5-2, 0-1) on Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium.
The Irish beat three-time defending champion Warren Harding three weeks ago, but have since dropped consecutive games to Akron Hoban and Columbus Watterson.
"Mooney has a very similar style in how they want to run the ball and we want to run the ball, too," said Irish coach Dan Reardon. "Certainly it is a big game and we will rebound for that."
In the Metro Athletic Conference, Alliance (6-2, 4-1) and Niles (4-4, 3-1) seem headed for a Week 10 showdown at Bo Rein Stadium for the league title. But the Red Dragons must first handle Salem (5-3, 3-2), which fell to Canfield (5-3, 3-2) on Friday.
Niles and Alliance are the only MAC teams with one loss.
In the Inter-County League, Mineral Ridge has a clear path to its first league title since 1998 after Friday's 20-7 win over previously unbeaten South Range.
"The ICL goes through South Range," said Rams coach Shawn Brown. "They've got a great football tradition. They're the ones you've got to knock off."
Mineral Ridge (7-1, 4-0) has ICL games remaining against McDonald and Western Reserve. Springfield (7-1, 4-1) and South Range (7-1, 3-1) -- which each lost to Mineral Ridge -- also have an outside chance to win the league. They will play each other in Week 10.
All three teams are firmly in the playoff hunt.
"It's a great league," said Raiders coach Dan Yeagley. "You've got three teams fighting for the title and for playoff position."
Around the area
There's little suspense left in the area's other primary leagues.
Chaney (5-3, 2-0) has its seventh straight City Series title all but wrapped up.
Crestview (7-1, 5-0) seems likely to finish unbeaten in the Tri-County League. The Rebels won back-to-back league titles in 2000-01.
And undefeated Hubbard (7-0, 5-0) has a clear path to its first Trumbull Athletic Conference title since 2001.