Road-warrior Falcons surprise McKinley
QB Jon Ballard led Fitch to the game-clinching touchdown en route to a 28-15 victory.
“A goal line stand against those studs?” That’s an awful good football team and there’s a lot of talent out there. I know they’re going to win a lot of football games, so it was a really big win for us.”
Fitch coach Phil Annarella
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANTON — As he came to the end of the postgame handshake line on Saturday night at Fawcett Stadium, Fitch senior Jon Ballard started jumping around, slapping the football in his hand and yelling, “Let’s go baby!”
Then his teammates started yelling, “We did it! We did it!”
The Falcons did a lot. They proved their doubters wrong. They beat a strong Canton McKinley team on the road.
And they earned arguably the biggest victory for the program since their 2004 playoff season.
And at the center of it all was Ballard, who played well through three quarters, then turned brilliant for five minutes of the fourth, leading Fitch to the game-clinching touchdown en route to a 28-15 victory at Fawcett Stadium.
“I’m so happy for Jon,” Fitch coach Phil Annarella said. “Some of that stuff leaks out on the Internet and there’s some people saying Ballard is just an athlete playing quarterback, he’s not this, he’s not that. ...
“I thought he had a wonderful game tonight and I’m proud of him. There was a lot of pressure on him.”
There was a lot of pressure on the rest of the Falcons, too, who started last season 3-0 only to watch a promising season go sour beginning with a Week 4 loss to McKinley. They lost four straight Federal League games and finished 5-5.
After a 3-0 start again this year, Annarella knew there were plenty of fans taking a wait-and-see attitude.
“That’s what we talked to the kids about [before the game],” Annarella said. “We didn’t lay on it a lot, but we said, ‘Look guys, it’s time to step it up. This is a good football program and you’re going into their house.’”
Ballard, a three-year starter, had the best game of his career. He rushed 22 times for 157 yards and two TDs and completed 14 of 20 passes for 237 yards, two TDs and no interceptions.
“It’s a big win for us, man,” Ballard said. “We’re a totally different team than last year. All the credit goes to my line. And the defense played a heck of a game.
“We got shut down in the third quarter but they brought us back up.”
Fitch took a 21-3 lead into halftime due to three big plays on offense a 69-yard TD run by Ballard, a 37-yard TD pass to Bruce Reed and a 60-yard TD pass to DeAndre Richardson) and a huge goal line stand at the end of the quarter.
McKinley had three chances to score at the one-foot line, but the Fitch defense was up to the challenge, stuffing three straight quarterback sneaks.
“A goal line stand against those studs?” said Annarella, who praised his coaching staff, particularly defensive coordinator Dave Yargo and offensive coordinator Wally Hurdley. “That’s an awful good football team and there’s a lot of talent out there. I know they’re going to win a lot of football games, so it was a really big win for us.”
The Fitch defense came up huge again late in the fourth, stopping the Bulldogs (2-2) on downs at the Falcons’ 9. That set up the game’s biggest drive, with Ballard driving Fitch 91 yards in 14 plays over 4:44 to take a 28-9 lead. Ballard accounted for 88 of the 91 yards, capping the drive with an 8-yard TD run with 2:16 left.
Bryce Wilder had 28 carries for 204 yards and Elijah Farrakhan added 133 yards on 16 carries to lead McKinley.
scalzo@vindy.com