Sloppy Fitch suffocates Wadsworth

By Kevin Connelly

kconnelly@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone in the Austintown Fitch locker room after Saturday’s regional quarterfinal that would argue the Falcons played sloppy.

You also weren’t going to find anyone that would trade the result as the Falcons used a suffocating defensive effort to survive a first-round scare against Wadsworth, 15-3.

Fitch rode the strength of its defensive line and running back Tyler Hewlett to advance in the Division I playoffs, despite not having its best performance at Fitch Falcon Stadium.

“Sloppy first-round game, I would agree with that,” Fitch coach Phil Annarella said. “We did what we had to do to win the game and we came up with enough big defensive plays.”

The Falcons (8-2) dialed up different blitzes all evening, sacking Grizzlies quarterback Adam Dennison seven times. Sophomore Lawrence Harrington recorded two of them and nearly intercepted Dennison in the game’s final minutes.

“This week’s practice, the coaches pushed me hard,” Harrington said. “I just carried it over to the game.”

The Falcons held the Grizzlies to 98 net rushing yards, thanks to 42 sack yards. On offense, Hewlett shouldered the load, carrying the ball 19 times for 208 yards. The senior running back used his shiftiness to elude Wadsworth tacklers all night.

“[Austintown Fitch] was good,” Dennison said. “I don’t really know — I guess we were having a tough time with some of the things they were doing, but they were just good.”

Dennison was sharp, completing 14-of-19 passes for 141 yards, but did throw a costly interception at the goal line, when the Grizzlies were given great field position in the first half.

Hewlett took a hand off on the first play of the game and ran 55 yards to the Wadsworth 12 yard line. Two plays later, wideout Joey Harrington scored out on a end around for a 7-yard touchdown.

Lawrence Harrington converted the two-point conversion for the Falcons.

“That’s pretty much always the game plan for our offense,” Hewlett said. “Just run the ball and we were doing whatever plays worked.”

Wadsworth had two first-half turnovers, including a big fourth-down stop at midfield on the Grizzlies first drive of the game. Hewlett met running back Daniel Weinerman — who finished with 102 rushing yards — in the hole and drove the Grizzlies running back into the ground for a loss.

Fitch was slowed by multiple first-half turnovers, as well. Quarterback Antwan Harris threw a interception and Jaylen Sanders fumbled a punt on the Falcons’ 11-yard line.

Dennison was intercepted by Fitch’s Darrell Jackson to keep the Grizzlies from converting the fumble into points.

Wadsworth was able to turn another Falcons fumble into points at the end of the first half. J.C. Mikovich caught a pass over the middle and immediately coughed it up to the Grizzlies’ Kyle Kemppel — his second fumble recovery of the game.

Dennison drove the Grizzles down the field for a 26-yard field goal by Benny Baier to close out the first half.

Fitch went on a 10-play, 48-yard drive in the second half, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Harris, to finish off the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies (7-4) were eliminated in the first round for the second consecutive season.

Fitch advances to play Westerville Central in the second round.