He finished with 157 yards rushing and two touchdowns against the Falcons.

By JOHN KOVACH

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

AUSTINTOWN — When a football team dominates the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and unleashes the playmakers to put points on the board on the ground and through the air, the other team doesn’t stand a chance.

And that’s exactly what happened in Friday night’s Federal League opener between Austintown Fitch High and Canton GlenOak at Falcon Stadium.

The Falcons were unable to move the ball and unable to prevent GlenOak from moving the ball.

The Golden Eagles, sparked by running back Anthony Smith and quarterback Justin Szink, rolled to a 26-0 victory to remain undefeated.

Smith scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of 14 and 2 yards and finished with 157 yards rushing in 32 carries, to lead the GlenOak (4-0) offense.

But he had strong support from Szink, who hit Michael Joy on a 5-yard scoring strike and wound up with 142 total yards with 7-for-10 passing for 75 yards and 67 yards rushing in nine attempts.

Szink also hit Brandon Martin on a two-point conversion pass, and Szink scored a TD on a 5-yard run in the final quarter that unfortunately was nullified by a penalty.

All that scoring gave GlenOak a 20-0 halftime lead, while Adam Garman raced 50 yards for a TD near the end of the game to complete the rout.

Annarella: GlenOak tough

“I would totally agree with that statement that [GlenOak] dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage,” Fitch coach Phil Annarella said.

“They had a good size line and certainly took advantage. [Our] offense just didn’t get in sync and I attribute a lot of that to them.”

Annarella admitted that GlenOak was the better team.

“They played really well and we didn’t play so well,” Annarella said. “The better team won .”

Glenoak coach Scott Garcia was elated with his team’s performance.

“We played well up front and we have a great tailback (Smith],” said Garcia. “We even played well on defense. Our players were getting to the ball. They were running to the ball real well. We created a couple of turnovers.”

He said his offensive line has shown consistent improvement. “Our offensive line is getting better every week,” said Garcia.

The coach agreed that Smith and Szink provide GlenOak with a “one-two punch” on offense.

“Smith gained over 1,000 yards last year. And [Szink] is a return starter. Their combination has been real effective.”

Fitch’s offense checked

Fitch (1-3) was held to 84 yards rushing in 31 attempts, led by running back Sylvestry Gibbs with 58 yards in 16 carries.

Quarterback Jon Ballard was only 1-for-8 passing for 8 yards and two interceptions, while substitute quarterback Joe Reedy was 2-for-4 for 17 yards.

The Falcons never threatened to score, their deepest drive being to GlenOak’s 30 in the first quarter on their first offensive series that was stopped by a fumble lost to George Makris.

Fitch also got to GlenOak’s 38 in the final quarter, but after losing seven yards the Falcons were intercepted by James Long, who then returned the ball to Fitch’s 42. That set up the drive toward Szink’s nullified 5-yard scoring dash.

Smith’s 14-yard TD dash capped a 10-play, 63-yard, game-opening drive and gave GlenOak a 6-0 lead.

In the second quarter, the Golden Eagles capitalized on a mere 7-yard Fitch punt from its 20 to the 27, and six plays later Szink hit Joys with the 5-yard TD strike.

Then late in the second period, GlenOak mounted a 13-play, 67-yard march capped by Smith’s 2-yard plunge and Szink’s conversion toss to Martin.

Garman’s 50-yard scoring dash came with 1:30 remaining in the game.

kovach@vindy.com