Boardman @ Fitch 25-7

Gallery

Team

Austintown Fitch

Record	Div.	Conf.
6/4	Div. I	All-American Conference Gold Tier

Team

Boardman

Record	Div.	Conf.
6/5	Div. II	All-American Conference Gold Tier

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

It was a celebration, a coronation and a farewell party wrapped up in one.

Following the biggest win of their high school careers (so far), Fitch seniors Steve Zaborsky and Bruce Reed each held half of the Federal League trophy over their heads, leading a host of other Falcons on a victory lap around the stadium as the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” blared from the speakers and students flooded on the field.

“I can’t even explain,” said Zaborsky following a 25-7 win over arch-rival Boardman on Friday. “There’s so many emotions running through me right now, I can’t even hold them all in.

“We set out to take the Federal League championship [last winter] and this is a very memorable moment for us.”

Zaborsky, a YSU recruit, sealed the game with a 10-yard fumble return for a TD from his defensive line spot with two minutes left, as the Falcons (9-1, 6-1) won conference titles in their first and last years in the league.

“I wouldn’t have cared if it was me or any of my brothers on the team,” said Zaborsky, who was wearing a lei he received from his Hawaiian mother after the game. “I’m just happy we were able to seal it and keep them from beating us tonight.”

Fitch will likely host Willoughby South in the first round of the playoffs next Saturday. Unfortunately, the Falcons might have to do it without standout junior quarterback, Demetrious Davis, who was injured early in the second quarter on a vicious hit to the shoulder and did not return. Early indications were that he broke his collarbone, although there was no official report.

Fitch also lost its first and second string centers, Chris Penson and Josh Miller; both were helped off the field with leg injuries and neither returned.

“I’ll tell you what, that’s a real tribute to our team,” said Fitch coach Phil Annarella. “Not too many teams can lose their starting quarterback and first and second team center and still function, so I’m really proud of them.”

Senior Shane Stevens filled in well for Davis, managing the game as senior running backs Will Mahone (18 carries, 110 yards, 1 TD) and Bruce Reed (17 carries, 72 yards, 1 TD) paced a ground game that gained 207 yards on 58 carries.

But it was Fitch’s defense that won the game, picking off Boardman QB Ryan Pollifrone seven times — three by Cameron Patterson — to go with the fumble.

“Is that how many we had?” Annarella said. “Holy moley. I didn’t realize that.

“The defense came up big. [Defensive coordinator] Wally Hurdley did a great job.”

Pollifrone finished 12 of 26 for 136 yards but was sacked five times. Nick Buonavolonta added 15 carries for 60 yards and a TD for the Spartans (6-4, 4-3), whose defense kept them in the game well into the fourth.

“We knew it was do or die; we had a playoff-type mentality,” said Boardman coach D.J. Ogilvie, whose team will miss the playoffs. “It was an old-school Steel Valley game.

“We just made too many mistakes.”

Fitch will move to the All-American Conference next season but will be independent in football, so Friday’s game was the Falcons’ last chance at winning a league crown for awhile.

As he took in the atmosphere, Annarella was asked if it was an emotional moment.

“Yeah, it is,” he said. “It very much is. It very, very much is.”