Tag Archive for: Falcons

JEFFERSON GIRLS BASKETBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP 1) WITH TJ FURMAN

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By Ty Bartell 

JEFFERSON OH- It is a new season for The Jefferson Falcons girls basketball team and things will look similar but different at the same time this season. Joining a different conference this season, The Falcons look to do battle with the likes of more Ashtabula County teams this year as members of The Chagrin Valley Conference (CVC) Lake Division. Looking to build off last year, Jefferson will return a fair amount of players that will look to fill new leadership roles available.

In this edition of Coaches Corner, YSNs Ty Bartell talks with The Falcons Head Coach TJ Furman about the expectations for the upcoming season, the excitement of local matchups returning, impact players to look out for and so much more! Keep updated with YSN, your home for Jefferson Falcons live games, scores, stats, stories and more

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AUSTINTOWN FITCH BASKETBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP 1) WITH BRIAN BEANY

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AUSTINTOWN OH- It’s time for another basketball season! Austintown Fitch is gearing up for another exciting year. The Falcons have put together one of the toughest schedules you’ll find on YSN.  Head coach Brian Beany wants to make sure when tournament time hits that his team is ready for any style of basketball opponents will throw at them.  The Falcons have a ton of talent at their disposal, and experience to go with it.

Coach Beany took the time to preview the season with Ty Bartell and Anthony Hartwig.  They talk about the Falcons tough schedule, leaders of the team, and much more. Check out Episode 1 of Coach’s Corner with Brian Beany.

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HORNETS HAVE NO STING AGAINST FITCH

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By Ty Bartell

CLEVELAND OH- Week one of the Ohio high school playoffs for football has officially begun! As countless teams embark on their journey to their ultimate goal, half of the remaining teams will say goodbye in the coming weeks until seven teams will stand tall as State Champions for 2023. Heading into the Division 2, Region 5 playoffs there was an intriguing matchup between the #7 seeded Cleveland John Hay Hornets (5-4) hosting the #10 seeded Austintown-Fitch Falcons (6-3) in the first round of the playoffs at The Collinwood Athletic Complex in East Cleveland, Ohio.

The Falcons struck first taking their first drive of the game down the field a full 80 yards on 9 plays while heavily featuring sophomore running back Junie Higgs, who capped the drive off with a 2 yard rushing touchdown, making it 7-0 Fitch with 2:11 in the first quarter. Fitch quickly transitioned to the air attack their next drive, as opening the second quarter, Fitch would run two plays, a 37-yard pass to Dom Perry and a 25-yard touchdown strike to Dan Evans III, Anthony Ruggles mad another PAT, making it 14-0 Austintown with 11:20 in the second.

A three and out would follow for The Hornets the very next drive, with a fourth down blocked punt by Fitch setting The Falcons up with excellent field position to start their third drive. Starting the drive on The Hornets 12 yard line, it only took Fitch one play, as with 10:07 left in the second, a 12 yard touchdown pass to Dom Perry helped make it 21-0! The offense was as potent as DeShawn Vaughn Jr. orchestrated a great 6 play, 52 yard drive that ended with himself in the endzone from a yard out on a designed quarterback run, giving Fitch the 28-0 lead with 6:40 left in the first half. Like the Vince Carter meme, Vaughn had one more in him, putting together another great drive in the waning moments of the second quarter, Vaughn would lead The Falcons 68 yards down the field on 9 plays as the freshman Christian Mahone capped it off with a touchdown! Extending the score to 35-0 in favor of Austintown going into the halftime locker room.

With a running clock being implemented in the second half, it just came down to The Falcons being able to salt time away, and with the second unit in, they did just that! As Davanzo Tate took the intialt possession of the second half right down the field, burning over 10 minutes of game clock in driving Fitch down the field 75 yards on 13 plays with a beautiful 23 yard dime to Brady Evans, a PAT by Jaxon Faulkner and The Falcons sealed the first round a 42-0 winner over John Hay.

Big performers for Fitch included Junie Higgs, as the sophomore ran for 75 yards on 11 carries and grabbed a touchdown, all in the first half. Dome Perry also had a monster first half, reeling in 4 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, DeShawn Vaughn Jr. had an excellent day slinging the rock, going 10/12 in completions with 207 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. Dan Evans III also had a nice 5 catch, 68 yard performance as he got his 6th receiving touchdown of the season.

Fitch (7-3) will now advance to the next round where they will meet the #2 seeded Walsh-Jesuit Warriors (10-1) on Friday, November 3rd at Walsh Jesuit with a 7 p.m. start time. Stay up-to-date with all Austintown-Fitch athletics scores, stats, stories and more on YSN!

FALCONS FLIGHT GROUNDED BY NDCL

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By Ty Bartell

AKRON OH- In a Division 1, Region 1, Northeast 2 battle between #3 seeded Austintown-Fitch Falcons and #5 seeded Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (NDCL) Lions on the volleyball court, it set up a lot of intrigue with the two teams meeting prior in the regular season. These two would lock horns once again on Tuesday night to play for the right to move on to the District Championship!
Fitch entered the match sporting an 18-5 record, meanwhile NDCL had a very deceiving 11-11 clip. In their prior matchup in the season on August 29th, The Falcons would come from behind down two sets to one and win the match in a five set thriller!

Looking like they were going to set the tone once again on Tuesday night, Fitch would grab the opening set in a very competitive battle 25-23 to grab the advantage. The Lions were not taking that lying down, they roared back in set two, claiming it 25-18. Back to a barn burner in set three, both teams took it down to the wire, this time seeing NDCL grab the set win 26-24, grabbing a 2-1 advantage in sets and setting Fitch up in a similar situation earlier in the year. However, no comebacks were on The Lions minds as they secured the 25-22 set four win, taking the match 3-1 and advancing to the District Championship.

Another fun and exciting season of Falcons volleyball, we here at YSN wish the best of luck to the three Fitch seniors Afton Roby, Jordan Smith and Payton Binion in all your future goals! It has been our honor to cover all of your careers! Keep updated with all your Austintown-Fitch athletics stats, scores, stories and more on YSN!

EAGLES RUSHING ATTACK TOO MUCH FOR FALCONS

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Geneva, OH- In a difficult matchup for the Falcons, the Jefferson Falcons faced off against the Geneva Eagles, resulting in a resounding victory for the Eagles with a final score of 57-13.

The first quarter saw Geneva’s Luke Smith making his mark with a 10-yard touchdown run, followed by an extra point by Owen Pfiefer. This was just the beginning as Smith later added another 8-yard touchdown run, contributing to a 14-0 lead for Geneva. Bryce Peet joined the scoring frenzy with a 13-yard touchdown run, pushing the lead to 21-0.

The second quarter was no different, with Bryce Peet extending his influence with a 15-yard touchdown run, followed by a successful 2-point conversion. Jason Thrower added to the scoreboard with a 2-yard touchdown run, and Hayden Diemer continued the assault with a 3-yard touchdown run, bringing the lead to an impressive 43-0.

Jefferson finally found their footing in the third quarter when Jonathan Bissell broke through with a stunning 64-yard touchdown run, followed by an extra point from Jensen Yaroush. However, Geneva’s Ricky DiPetta swiftly responded with a 2-yard touchdown run, pushing the score to 50-6. Jefferson’s Kaige Boczar managed to score a 35-yard touchdown run, although the extra point was unsuccessful, leaving the score at 50-13.

The fourth quarter saw Ricky DiPetta with another touchdown, this time from 1 yard out, securing the win for Geneva with a final score of 57-13.

With this victory, the Geneva Eagles improved to an impressive 9-1 record, 5-0 in the CVC Lake Division, and are set to host the Hawken Hawks in the first round of the OHSAA Playoffs. Unfortunately, the Jefferson Falcons ended their season with a 0-10 record, 0-5 in the CVC Lake Division, after the loss to Geneva.

FITCH WINS ANOTHER WILD ONE OVER HARDING

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WARREN OH- In an exhilarating football showdown, Fitch once again delivered a wild win over Warren Harding, staging a remarkable comeback from a 13-0 halftime deficit to secure a nail-biting 14-13 victory.

The first quarter remained scoreless, with both teams testing each other’s defenses. The second quarter, however, witnessed Warren Harding taking the lead with Javonte Jones breaking free for a 36-yard touchdown run, and Jake Daugherty successfully converting the extra point, establishing a 7-0 advantage. Harding continued their offensive prowess as Ryan Powell executed a 4-yard touchdown run, although Fitch’s Davion Pritchard managed to block the extra point, leaving the score at 13-0 in favor of Harding.

The third quarter marked a turning point in the game as Fitch’s Deon’Dray Richard bulldozed his way through for a 3-yard touchdown run. Anthony Ruggles converted the extra point, bringing Fitch back into the game at 13-7. The highlight of the match came as DeShawn Vaughn Jr. connected with Junie Higgs for a 15-yard touchdown pass at 5:18, with Ruggles once again converting the extra point, swinging the lead in favor of Fitch at 14-13.

The final moments were packed with intense defensive plays, as Fitch’s Rocco Diflorio forced a fumble, which was expertly recovered by Davion Pritchard. Dan Evans III made a crucial play, blocking a field goal attempt from 32 yards. Dylan Krohn contributed with an interception, securing Fitch’s lead.

On the other side, Warren Harding’s DeShawn Wynn forced a fumble and made an important recovery, while Tyler Smith managed to secure an interception.

FITCH GRABS THE EXPRESS TICKET TO DISTRICTS

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By Ty Bartell 

AUSTINTOWN OH- As playoff volleyball is upon us, The Austintown-Fitch Falcons volleyball team looks to
carve their way through a very tough Division 1 state tournament. Entering the postseason as the #3 seed in the Region 1, Northeast 2 bracket, The Falcons were already booked in the Sectional Final, where they hosted #36 seeded Lyndhurst Brush.

In a dominating display of effective volleyball, Fitch brushed-off Lyndhurst in straight sets 25-6, 25-2 and 25-8. Wasting little time in booking their ticket to the District Semi-Final. Leading the way for The Falcons was Jordan Smith who finished with a team-high 12 kills, pairing that with 5 digs in the match. Afton Roby was effective at scoring in multiple ways, ending the night with 6 kills and an impressive 7 aces! Tied for a match-high in that category. Also with 7 aces was Kylie Folkwein who also had a team leading 9 digs and also notched 6 kills in the match. While Rylie Simons was, once again, a fine-tuner on offense with 26 assists and 4 aces in the win!

Austintown-Fitch (18-5) will now face a familiar foe in the District Semi-Final as The Falcons are set to square-off with the #5 seeded Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin Lions (11-11) on Tuesday, October 24th. Fitch had a previous encounter with The Lions in the regular season, back on August 29th when The Falcons came back down 2-1 to take the match 3-2. Their Tuesday meeting will be the first of two District Demi-Final matches, slated to start at 6 p.m. and will be played at Akron North. Keep updated with all postseason volleyball scores, stats, stories and more on YSN!

THE PICK PANTHER

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AUSTINTOWN, OH- Welcome back, sports fans! Today’s episode of YSN (Your Sports Network) features an exciting player profile on Davion Pritchard, the senior back at Austintown Fitch High School.

In this interview with host DJ Yokley, we get an exclusive look into Davion’s journey as he reflects on his senior year and shares his experiences playing for the Falcons. From the emotional roller coaster of knowing that every moment is his last in high school, to the unforgettable memories made on the field, Davion takes us through the highlights of his final season.

Join us as we delve into the electrifying atmosphere of Greenwood Stadium, the challenges of facing tough opponents, and the importance of selflessness in a team sport. Get ready for an inspiring conversation that will make you appreciate the power of camaraderie and the drive to leave a lasting impact.

Stay tuned for this captivating episode of YSN: “Austintown Fitch Profile – Davion Pritchard”.

 

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AUSTINTOWN FITCH FOOTBALL COACH’S CORNER (EP 7) WITH TJ PARKER

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AUSTINTOWN, OH-  In this episode of Coach’s Corner, we dive into the world of Austintown Fitch Football with special guest, TJ Parker.

Fresh off a big win over Borman, Coach Parker joins us to discuss the team’s recent success and their plans for the upcoming weeks. We’ll hear about their journey back to the win column after a month-long drought and how they’re building on their previous performances.

Coach Parker also shares his insights on their upcoming game against Harding, a team they know all too well. Join us as we explore the strategies, challenges, and victories of Austintown Fitch Football. Get ready for an exciting and insightful conversation!

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CRAFTY AFTON ROCKS THE MIDDLE

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By Ty Bartell

AUSTINTOWN OH- When discussing Division 1 high school volleyball in the state of Ohio, you will not really find much success come tournament time if you lack a strong middle. Someone with solid height, good skill with an even better IQ and awareness to help solidify the net. Looking at The Austintown-Fitch Falcons volleyball team, that is exactly what they have in senior Afton Roby! A three year starter for The Falcons, Roby has continued to develop herself and get better each and every season she has played in.

Having the stats to back it up as well, as Roby was third on the team in kills (192) this regular season while simultaneously being second on the team in kill% (46.5), hit% (.363), aces (40) and leading Fitch in blocks (61) with 14 of them being of the solo variety. Beyond that, Roby has one of the loudest and proudest support systems at her games with her parents and grandparents, especially her “papa”, bringing the energy to each and every match!
A great leader on the floor,

Roby reminisces about her journey to that spot with Ty Bartell in this edition of Player Profile by YSN. While also discussing some of her favorite volleyball memories, the best hangout spots in Austintown and her plans following high school. Do not miss out on this Player Profile with Austintown-Fitch senior middle, Afton Roby!

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