Fitch survives

after Massillon

misses field goal

By Ryan Buck

sports@vindy.com

MASSILLON

Beneath the massive Paul Brown Massillon Tiger Stadium scoreboard and in the midst of a cold drizzle, Austintown Fitch coach Phil Annarella was looking for the right words to encapsulate his team’s epic 34-33 victory over the Tigers Friday night.

He had none, until an equipment manager’s John Deere Gator slowly rolled by the team huddle.

“Way to dig deep, boys!”

A clearly emotional Annarella immediately echoed his assistant’s sentiments.

The Falcons erased a 14-point first-half deficit and a 10-point second-half deficit and emphatically answered a potentially devastating fumble return for a touchdown before withstanding a game-winning field goal attempt with five seconds left in the game.

Their triumph over Massillon certainly had its twists and turns.

“Great game,” Annarella said after having defeated Massillon for the second straight season. “Massillon played a great game. These last two years are enough to knock 10 years off my life.

“We’re blessed to come out of here with a win.”

After Fitch tied the game at 27 on an Antwan Harris touchdown with 10:43 left, Tigers defensive back Jeff Koch returned a Tyler Hewlett fumble 53 yards for a touchdown. The point-after attempt failed.

A Fitch team hounded by self-inflicted wounds and questionable penalties responded right away. Hewlett broke off a 59-yard run to set up a 2-yard Harris touchdown run on fourth-and-goal with 4:13 left to take the lead.

Massillon had a last-gasp drive. Clark brought the Tigers to the Fitch 23 where the fate of the game fell to All-Ohio kicker Andrew David. After a clean snap and hold, David’s kick sailed wide right, triggering a raucous celebration on the Fitch sideline and in the stands behind them.

“Coach talks to us all the time about overcoming adversity and when we’re down, we’ve got to pick our heads up, buckle down and just get ready,” Harris said. “I couldn’t even watch [the field goal attempt] because last year the same thing happened. They were deep in our red zone and had a chance to score, but we denied them just like this year.”

The Tigers dominated at the outset, gaining 11 first downs and more than eight minutes of possession.

Sophomore quarterback Danny Clark engineered a 12-play, 80-yard drive to begin the contest. He found receiver Reggie Rogers for 42 yards on the game’s first play. Running back J.D. Crabtree powered into the end zone from eight yards out to cap it.

After his defense forced a three-and-out from Fitch, Clark went right back to work — this time from 98 yards away. Another 12 play drive — with runs from Crabtree and Danny Robinson mixed in — led to a Clark-to-Rogers 20-yard touchdown pass with 1:38 left in the first quarter.

Just as the Falcons looked to be run out of Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Harris found a rhythm and they capitalized on a botched special teams play.

A holding penalty and consecutive incomplete passes killed a Fitch scoring drive midway through the second quarter. On their next possession, however, Harris and Hewlett — in the place of starter Darrin Hall — drove their team in for a score with Hewlett sprinting in from 23 yards out on fourth-and-1.

Another Fitch defensive stand in Massillon territory resulted in a bad punt snap that sailed over David’s head. After two straight penalties pushed them back to the Massillon 22, Harris found Joey Harrington wide open to tie the game with 1:03 left in the first half.

On Fitch’s first second-half possession, Antwan Harris was intercepted by Tobias Harris at the Falcons’ 31-yard line. Three plays later, Crabtree was in the end zone and Massillon (5-1) led 24-14.

Again, a Harris-led drive led to another Hewlett touchdown run. After a blocked extra point, Fitch (5-1) trailed 24-20 midway through the third quarter.

David tacked on his second field goal of the game with 1:42 to go in the third quarter, setting the stage for a wild fourth.

Harris and Hewlett combined for 264 rushing yards.