Week 2: Austintown Fitch (1-0) vs Central Valley (0-0)

It's 2023 and I just watched a team line up in the T formation and drive it the length of the football field to win the game.

Central Valley was definitely the better team of the two tonight. If not for some special teams magic from Pritchard, this game may not have been that close.

Line play on both sides of the ball was not very good. The offense didn't attack the middle if the field at all, which was a little surprising considering the talent at WR.
 
I would say of the 2 schools:

Raw talent goes to Fitch
Prepared and In-sync goes to CV

I think both of these schools will end up having great years. If Fitch can get the fundamentals squared away there is still a lot to play for.
 
TheChickenHeart said:
It's 2023 and I just watched a team line up in the T formation and drive it the length of the football field to win the game.

Central Valley was definitely the better team of the two tonight. If not for some special teams magic from Pritchard, this game may not have been that close.

Line play on both sides of the ball was not very good. The offense didn't attack the middle if the field at all, which was a little surprising considering the talent at WR.
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No doubt Central Valley was the better team. Fitch athletically can match up with anybody. However, they are soft upfront on both sides of the ball. Safety for CV was cracking people all night. Nobody Fitch’s defense comes and meets people like that.
D-line is average, linebackers outside of Diflorio have been poor. Secondary is the strength but they shouldnt lead the team in tackles

If any team fitch plays the rest of the year has more than 5 pass attempts shame on them. That defensive run game and tackling is HORRIBLE.

Iggy and Massillon might collectively run for 1200 yards against this defense…
 
No excuse for blowing a 2 TD lead with < 10 minutes left. Defensive philosophy hasn't changed and will continue to be exposed against physical teams. DJ took a beating last night, yet his backup had maybe 2-3 carries,including a TD🤔. IMO,Fitch didn't take advantage of potential mismatches in the passing game, not 1 vertical attempt +20 yards.. CV was the better coached team, but not the better team. I don't care how much INDIVIDUAL talent you have, if you don't play physical and as a TEAM, you will lose games you shouldn't. Better teams ahead, something needs to change quickly because right now we are looking at 5-4 at best. Maybe now the best Fitch team ever talk will stop,not even close.
 
bktasz77 said:
No excuse for blowing a 2 TD lead with < 10 minutes left. Defensive philosophy hasn't changed and will continue to be exposed against physical teams. DJ took a beating last night, yet his backup had maybe 2-3 carries,including a TD🤔. IMO,Fitch didn't take advantage of potential mismatches in the passing game, not 1 vertical attempt +20 yards.. CV was the better coached team, but not the better team. I don't care how much INDIVIDUAL talent you have, if you don't play physical and as a TEAM, you will lose games you shouldn't. Better teams ahead, something needs to change quickly because right now we are looking at 5-4 at best. Maybe now the best Fitch team ever talk will stop,not even close.
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Same old Fitch.
 
AtownFalcon201 said:
Is 6-4 best case scenario this year, with losses to Ignatius, Massillon, and Ursuline?
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You can’t put Ursuline in the same conversation as Massillon and Iggy. They both beat Ursuline handily. As they will both beat Fitch handily. Now Fitch on the other hand has been back and forth with Ursuline the last four years or so (even though I believe Fitch has had more talent each year), so I would think that is still close to a 50/50 game. Should be a good game IMHO.
 
The vibe I'm getting is that you guys seem to be conceding. It's only week 2, don't see why Iggy wouldn't be beatable. I can see why Massillon APPEARS to be a loss but there's a long way to go until that game and Massillon has their own issues....plus it's @ Fitch. Plenty of time for teams to improve. Good luck to Fitch except for week 8.
 
John Lee Pettimore said:
The vibe I'm getting is that you guys seem to be conceding. It's only week 2, don't see why Iggy wouldn't be beatable. I can see why Massillon APPEARS to be a loss but there's a long way to go until that game and Massillon has their own issues....plus it's @ Fitch. Plenty of time for teams to improve. Good luck to Fitch except for week 8.
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I don’t think anyone is conceding but seen this show before. Central Valley was a good team to be sure, not great but ran all over Fitch which all good, very good and especially great team’s always do. Xavier Dahn being out and no Brian Robinson this year certainly hurt a lot, but we aren’t making the adjustments to stop the run whatsoever. Having eight D1 players, granted not many power 5 players, Austintown needs to be better. Don’t remember if it was PJs first year or the coach before him, but Fitch used to two guys beside the four linemen every play. They have a lightning fast secondary who covers pretty darn good so they need to let loose and attempt to stop the run. If they get burned on pass once in a while so be it. But giving up 4 yard, 7 yard, 5 yard runs every down kills and also keeps the offense off the field. I’d rather be super aggressive and maybe you get the offense in downs and yardage they aren’t comfortable in. I called the end of the game halfway through the fourth quarter. Had to punt and long drive, all on the ground and I knew they’d go for two and we wouldn’t stop them. I’m not the smartest guy in the room lol, but I was unfortunately right on the money on that. After a longer than intended post, us fans are just very frustrated with what’s going on. But we and the team certainly haven’t waved the white flag.
 
bktasz77 said:
You pretty much nailed it. The stupid and emotional penalties must stop. Would like to see the run established in the first half, which means more physicality from the O line. Contrary to the previously described air raid attack, I'm expecting a more balanced offense from CV,being that it's wk 1 for them, and they are replacing most if not all of their skill. Definitely a bigger challenge for Fitch than Euclid. I see a close first half,and Fitch wearing CV down some in second half to pull away in 4th. Good luck to both teams, hopefully I like my new seat too.!
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You were definitely correct on “wearing them down” but it was Fitch that was gassed. Our coach does a fantastic job conditioning our boys. Thanks for being outstanding hosts. Great atmosphere for us to come out there!
 
18allstars said:
No doubt Central Valley was the better team. Fitch athletically can match up with anybody. However, they are soft upfront on both sides of the ball. Safety for CV was cracking people all night. Nobody Fitch’s defense comes and meets people like that.
D-line is average, linebackers outside of Diflorio have been poor. Secondary is the strength but they shouldnt lead the team in tackles

If any team fitch plays the rest of the year has more than 5 pass attempts shame on them. That defensive run game and tackling is HORRIBLE.

Iggy and Massillon might collectively run for 1200 yards against this defense…
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That safety you speak of is only a freshman. Jance Henry. Fantastic athlete
 
CVWarrior_15061 said:
You were definitely correct on “wearing them down” but it was Fitch that was gassed. Our coach does a fantastic job conditioning our boys. Thanks for being outstanding hosts. Great atmosphere for us to come out there!
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You got me. Good luck the rest of your season.
CVWarrior_15061 said:
Yea. I’m thinking the same😝

AF=great hosts and proved great entertaining game!
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We have the weapons, sadly they are not always used.
 
The CV coaches deserve props for coming on the road and beating a more talented team. Game plan was amazing. Austintown Fitch D has been atrocious for years and judging by Friday night. It is not getting any better . CV is light years from Massillon and Hoban .You can pencil in two to three more losses until the yearly Hoban loss comes in the playoffs. The state talk seemed a little crazy. Losing one player cannot be reason d falls apart.
 
YtownJohnny said:
You can’t put Ursuline in the same conversation as Massillon and Iggy. They both beat Ursuline handily. As they will both beat Fitch handily. Now Fitch on the other hand has been back and forth with Ursuline the last four years or so (even though I believe Fitch has had more talent each year), so I would think that is still close to a 50/50 game. Should be a good game IMHO.
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I'm taking Fitch over Iggy
 
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