By Tom Williams

williams@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

Fitch junior A.J. Winterburn said blocking his first varsity punt “was an amazing feeling. Two plays later, we score so that felt really good.”

Winterburn’s big play led to the Falcons’ second touchdown. On Mooney’s next play, Dom Montalbano fell on a Cardinal Mooney fumbled exchange to set up another score 76 seconds after the other.

Those plays late in the second quarter energized Fitch to Friday’s 24-14 victory over Cardinal Mooney.

The Falcons led 7-0 three minutes before halftime when Winterburn eluded his block and reached up to knock down Anthony Fire’s kick.

“I slipped right off of him, I cut in and put my hands up,” Winterburn said. “We go over it every practice, how to block a punt. And I got lucky.”

Le Vonte Scott recovered the ball at the Mooney 19 and Montalbano took over, scrambling from the Cardinals’ intense.

“It was a pass play and they picked up on it very well,” Montalbano said. “I saw green and I just decided to take off. There were some very nice blocks by our O-linemen.”

Montalbano was far from finished. After his fumble recovery at the Mooney 18, he ran for 6 and 11 yards to set up his 1-yard score, his third touchdown.

“It’s a very good feeling,” Montalbano said of the fumble recovery. “We had just scored and now we get another chance.”

Fitch (8-2) is most likely going to be the number-six seed for next weekend’s Division I, Region 1 playoffs. Pairings will be announced Sunday.

Playing for pride after already being eliminated from the Div. IV, Region 13 playoff chase, Cardinal Mooney (4-6) did not fold despite the dejection felt at halftime.

“We regrouped,” Mooney coach P.J. Fecko said of improved play in the second half. “All night, we were just a little bit short and a little bit behind. You can’t do that against a team like Fitch.”

The Cardinals made things interesting early in the fourth quarter when John Murphy hit Chris Gruber for a 25-yard touchdown.

With 4:58 to go, Carlo Walters kicked a 25-yard field goal to put the Falcons ahead 24-7. The Cardinals then made them fight to hold on.

Murphy’s second touchdown pass was for 9 yards to Jason Santisi with 3:10 remaining. An onside kick failed, but the Cardinals forced a three-and-out.

The Cardinals drove deep into Falcons territory, but were stopped a yard short of another set of downs thanks to defensive back Todd Simon’s tackle of Gruber on fourth-and-3.

A bright spot for Mooney was the five receptions by Nico Marchionda who will graduate with the career record of 55 receptions.

“He’s been a great player for us for four years, a great leader and, more importantly, a great person,” Fecko said. “He’s a joy to coach.”

The Falcons are in the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

“It’s very gratifying,” Fitch coach Phil Annarella said, citing the seniors’ theme of “hustle & heart sets us apart.”

Annarella called it “probably the most appropriate theme of any senior class since I’ve been here,” Annarella said. “Man, they’ve done it. It’s been all through hustle, big hearts and they play hard.

“We’ve been in dogfights [just about] every week,” Annarella said. “They’ve somehow found ways to win. And I’m just proud as heck of them.”

For a senior like Montalbano, there’s little better than preparing for Week 11.

“It feels great,” Montalbano said. “The past two years, we haven’t made it so it feels great to get a postseason. I’m so happy for my team — it’s a great group of guys.”

Murphy engineered the Cardinals’ offense, passing for 76 yards and rushing for 182. Jason Santisi had 85 yards on 20 carries.