Team

Austintown Fitch

Record	Div.	Conf.
8/3	Div. I	All-American Conference Gold Tier

BY JOSH WEIR

Canton Repository

CANTON

After what was essentially the game-clinching tackle Friday night, Chad Fite ran toward the sideline, stopped and saluted the McKinley crowd with his right hand.

He couldn’t use his left arm since it was wrapped with enough tape to make a mummy envious.

These Bulldogs had plenty of opportunities to lay down in the tomb and go quietly Friday night at Fawcett Stadium, but they fought back for a 24-16 high school football win against Fitch in a test of resiliency.

“I don’t think any words can explain the feeling,” Fite said of his fourth down stop and the ensuing celebration.

Keep in mind, Fite hadn’t played all season because of a dislocated elbow.

He didn’t practice this week and didn’t enter the game until late in the first quarter when starter Troy Lowe went down.

It was that kind of game for McKinley.

The Bulldogs used a Hail Mary pass at halftime to get some life, missed starting QB Tyler Foster for most of the third quarter and survived costly penalties and a blocked punt to move to 3-1, while handing a Fitch team playing without All-Ohio quarterback Demitrious Davis (knee) its first loss.

“There is ebb and flow in every game, and there are a lot of opportunities to get swallowed up by the tide,” McKinley coach Ron Johnson said. “Or do you tread water until you see land, and then swim like hell?

“We swam like hell and finished it.”

Senior Sa’Veon Holloway rushed for 143 yards of his career-high 213 yards after halftime, carrying the ball 37 times overall.

Foster, who came back from a stinger to score the tying and winning touchdowns in the fourth quarter, completed 11 of 19 passes for 117 yards.

Meanwhile, McKinley’s defense held Fitch to 136 total yards after the Falcons opened the game with an easy scoring drive. McKinley’s adjusted to Fitch’s speed and made the rest of the night difficult.

After McKinley took a 16-9 lead, Fitch blocked a Foster punt, setting up the Falcons at McKinley’s 34. QB

Matt Futkos hit Will Harrington up the seam for a touchdown on the next play — Fitch’s first completion since the first quarter. The point-after tied the game with 6:10 left.

Back came the Pups. A Holloway 30-yard run put them near midfield. He later ran four straight times before Foster faked to him and kept it around the left side for a 17-yard TD run. Holloway’s conversion run put McKinley up, 24-16, with 2:36 left.

Fitch faced a third and 2 on its last possession, but couldn’t convert after Se’Von Pittman stopped Will Mahone on third down and Fite chased down Futkos for a loss on fourth down.

Mahone rushed for 100 yards on 23 carries and Futkos completed 8 of 10 passes for 97 yards and a TD.