GlenOak’s big-play offense shatters Fitch win streak
The Falcons rallied in the fourth quarter but ran out of time.
By JOHN KOVACH
Vindicator sports staff
AUSTINTOWN — The Austintown Fitch defense gave its offense a chance to overcome a two-touchdown deficit against Canton GlenOak Friday night in a Federal League game at the Falcons’ stadium.
But the Falcons’ offense failed to respond until the final fourminutes of the game, launching a drive to put seven more points on the board with 2:12 left, to pull within 21-14.
But time ran out on Fitch as the Golden Eagles managed to run out the clock to preserve a win that shattered the Falcons’ undefeated streak.
The Fitch (4-1, 1-1 FL) defense stopped four other GlenOak scoring threats, but the Golden Eagles did enough damage early in the game with their passing attack to build a lead.
Senior quarterback Brandon Martin and senior wide receiver Luke Gavin, a pair of speedsters, hooked up on three touchdown passes, including two within the first 4:08 of the game covering 3 and 88 yards, to power the Golden Eagles (4-1, 2-0 FL).
They also combined on a 4-yard TD strike with 26.6 seconds left in the second quarter, and senior placekicker Pat Julian added all the extra points.
Julian also missed three field-goal attempts of 38, 24 and 37 yards to keep Fitch within striking distance.
Senior quarterback Jon Ballard and senior wide receiver Terry Terrigno figured in both of Fitch’s TDs.
Ballard hit Terrigno with a 19-yard strike and senior placekicker Ken Burns kicked the point-after to pull Fitch within 14-7 in the first quarter with 37.6 seconds left.
Then much later, after Fitch had gone scoreless in the second and third quarters, Ballard and Terrigno hooked up again on a 19-yard scoring strike with 2:12 left, and Burns again hit the placement, to draw Fitch within 21-14.
“They both are a pair of speed demons,” said Glenoak coach Scott Garcia about Martin and Gavin, noting they both can run the 40-yard dash in about 4.5 seconds. “Martin made some unbelievable plays.”
Gavin turned in one of the best plays of the game when he caught Martin’s pass with an acrobatic one-hand grab near the sideline, and then turned on the jets and outran the entire Fitch defense for GlenOak’s second TD.
“We mixed up our offense pretty good in the first half. Martin did a good job of executing the offense,” said Garcia.
But, “We missed a couple of opportunities and left a lot of points off the board in the second half.”
Martin completed 8 of 15 passes for 161 yards and one interception, and he also rushed for 52 yards in seven plays. Gavin caught four passes for 113 yards.
But it also was sophomore running back Brionte Dunn who piled up the yardage for GlenOak and kept a lot of the Golden Eagles’ drives going with 136 yards in a busy 32 carries.
On Fitch’s side, Ballard accounted for more than 200 yards on offense. He finished with 12-for-19 passing for 120 yards and one interception, and rushed for 82 yards in 16 carries.
Terrigno caught seven passes for 92 yards.
Gavin’s first TD pass from Martin was set up by senior linebacker Andrew Garman’s pass interception on the third play of the game at the Fitch 43 that he returned to the Falcons’ 11. GlenOak then scored in three plays.
Gavin’s second TD toss from Martin, his 88-yard gallop, came on the first play after Fitch’s Sam Maiorana got off a long 59-yard punt to the GlenOak 12.
And Gavin’s third TD strike from Martin capped a 77-yard, 10-play drive that followed Fitch’s only other threat in the game, which was to the Canton 23 where the Golden Eagles held.
Fitch gave it a good shot at the end. They just needed a little bit more time.
With about 4:00 left, the Falcons launched a 54-yard, six-play drive fueled by Ballard’s passing attack. Ballard found Terrigno on a 19-yard connection for the final score at 2:12, but GlenOak managed to eat up the remaining time to prevail.
kovach@vindy.com