Hall’s 151 yards, 3 TDs power Fitch over East
By Jim Flick
Austintown
The powerful Austintown Fitch High School football team remains undefeated after drubbing East High, 56-7, on Friday night.
Fitch (6-0) put East in a bind early, leading 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, and led 35-7 at halftime.
The Falcons’ first-half offensive blitz was led by sophomore running back Darrin Hall, who gained 151 yards on 15 carries and scored three touchdowns in his second start after replacing two injured upper classmen.
Hall put the game’s first points on the board with a 5-yard run, and scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter on runs of 32 and 20 yards.
“Good blocking,” Hall said, freed him up to gain those yards.
Fitch coach Phil Annarella liked what he saw.
“Obviously, he’s really done real well, I’m pleased,” Annarella said. “But when you have backs running for good yards, your offensive line’s got to be doing a good job, and they deserve a lot of credit.”
The Falcons’ blockers stick together.
“We just play as unit,” said Fitch senior offensive lineman Mike Koch. “We’re brothers out there. It’s all about chemistry. If you know what the guy next to you is doing, that’ll help what you’re doing. If you know each other well, you get a feel for each other and you play real well together.”
East coach Jim Vivo also credited the Fitch offensive line.
“Their offensive line is outstanding,” Vivo said.
After Hall scored the game’s first touchdown, Fitch quarterback Matt Futkos added a second touchdown on a 3-yard run.
East (2-4) scored its only touchdown in the second quarter on a 35-yard pass from senior quarterback Jamir Humphrey to senior Rayfield Bell to make it 14-7.
But Fitch scored three second-quarter touchdowns, two on Hall’s long runs and a third on a 17-yard end-around by wide receiver Kerrell Johnson.
In the third quarter, Futkos scored his second touchdown on a 15-yard run. The Falcons added two more scores in the fourth quarter, the first when defensive lineman Tony Behanna recovered an East fumble in end zone.
Tyler Bean scored the final touchdown on a 1-yard run with less than three minutes remaining.
Derrick Tensley was East’s leading rusher, gaining 73 yards on 19 carries.
“It wasn’t real pretty,” Annarella said. “We made some mistakes in some areas we haven’t been making them in. But when you win by the margin we won by, you can’t be too upset.”
Fitch won the turnover battle, grabbing three East fumbles and two interceptions.
All credit goes to Fitch,” Vivo said. “They’re a much better team and program than we are. They’re well coached. They beat a lot of really good teams.”
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