2010 Fitch Football Preview

Austintown Fitch Falcons
Head Coach: Phil Annarella
2009 Record/Finish: 3-4, 6-4/T-5^th Place
Conference: Federal League
Division: I
Region:  1
Playoff Appearances:  4
Last Playoff Appearance: 2004
Playoff Record: 5-4
Past Big 22 Recipients (2)
2009 - Jon Ballard, Sr/QB
2008 - Jon Ballard, Jr/QB

2009 All-Ohio
Third Team: Jon Ballard Sr./QB (Ohio Dominican)
Honorable Mention: DeAndre Richardson Sr./S-WR

2009 Points Per Game (Area Rank)
Points Scored: 35.0 (5^th)
Points Allowed: 21.3 (38^th)
Notes: In 2004, the Falcon defense was ranked 7^th in the area in points allowed (11.1). That marked the last year that Fitch’s defense was rated so high in that category.


Retooling in Austintown
Phil Annarella, in his fourth year as the head football coach at Austintown Fitch, must find a new signal caller to replace the graduated Jon Ballard. The 6’3 playmaker threw for 1,354 yards and ran for another 869 while scoring 26 total touchdowns a year ago.

The quarterback competition is between electrifying Demitrious Davis and Shane Stevens. Both played the position this past season in spot duty. Coach Annarella sees opportunities for others to step up, “We are going to get the ball in the hands of a lot of different people this year. That’s going to make us more dangerous as an offensive threat”. The Falcon offensive backfield will be filled with playmakers. Three-year starter Bruce Reed returns for his senior season. Juniors Will Mahone and Larry Vines will also carry the ball this year for Fitch. Mahone set the sophomore school rushing record last fall. The Falcons may not have many household names at the receiver position but juniors Nick Williams, Lucas Haupt, and Chris Davis can make a difference in the passing game. Fitch lacks size up front. “(For) many years Fitch had big offensive linemen (i.e. Mike McGlynn and Dan Gerberry), we just do not have that luxury right now,” says Annarella.

With sixty-six players in camp this summer, eleven of which are returning lettermen, Annarella’s system is in place in Austintown. “Kids have a pretty good idea of what to expect. We know what to expect of them. We had a real good off-season. (We) worked real hard in the weight room. It’s carried over so far into the early part of the summer. (We are) cautiously optimistic.”

“Last year we started off 4-0 with that big win against (Canton) McKinley (28-15 on September 19) and then that fight kind of just went away,” says Stevens (led the Falcons in tackles a year ago). Reed sees a different team in 2010, “We lost a lot of key players last year. We felt team wise (we have) a lot more players stepping up (this summer) that (allows us) to go further than we did last year”.

This fall will be the last season that Fitch will play in the Federal League. The Falcons have been a member of the conference since 2004. Senior defensive end Steve Zaborsky (committed to Youngstown State) says, “(We’re) all focused on the same goal which is (to) win the Federal League this year”.

2010 Schedule

Date	Opponent	Time
8/27/10	Chaney	7:30
9/3/10	At Poland	7:00
9/10/10	At Painesville Riverside	7:30
9/17/10	Canton McKinley%	7:30
9/24/10	At Canton GlenOak	7:30
10/1/10	At Massillon Jackson	7:30
10/8/10	Hoover	7:30
10/15/10	Massillon Perry	7:30
10/22/10	At Uniontown Lake	7:30
10/29/10	Boardman	7:30

%September 17 will be the night that Fitch Falcon fans will get a glimpse of highly thought of Bulldog senior defense end Steve Miller. The 6’4, 230-pounder has verbally committed to play for Ohio State next fall.

2009 Results

Date	Opponent	Result
8/28/09	Chaney	W 62-7
9/4/09	Youngstown East	W 42-14
9/11/09	Riverside	W 55-7
9/19/09	At Canton McKinley	W 28-15
9/25/09	GlenOak	L 14-21
10/2/09	Massillon Jackson	W 45-37
10/9/09	At Hoover	L 20-31
10/16/09	At Massillon Perry	L 14-31
10/23/09	Uniontown Lake	W 49-26
10/30/09	At Boardman	L 21-24 ot

Last 10 Years

Year	Record
2009	6-4
2008	5-5
2007	1-9
2006	4-6
2005	5-5
2004	9-2
2003	6-4
2002	6-4
2001	3-7
2000	3-7