H.S. Football: Wadsworth drops a thriller in the fourth overtime to Austintown Fitch

Chad Grant The Gazette WADSWORTH — In a non-league game that seemed like it would never end Friday, Wadsworth dropped a thrilling 42-35 four-overtime instant classic to Austintown Fitch. The hotly contested showdown matched the Medina County record for longest game and took just a shade under 3½ hours. Each team had multiple opportunities to put the away game in regulation and the overtimes before Fitch (7-1) finally sealed the win when Davion Pritchard picked off Luke Fischer in the end zone. "It's a super tough loss," Wadsworth receiver Aaron Keating said. "You just feel like you could still be out there playing. You wish it didn't have to be over and you had another opportunity to change the game, but there is nothing we can do about it now." Keating led the Grizzlies (5-3) with 101 yards on four receptions and scored the Grizzlies' second touchdown. The Grizzlies' three losses this season have come at the hands of teams with a combined 22-2 record — undefeated Hudson, one-loss Medina and one-loss Fitch. "We are a really good football team," Wadsworth coach Justin Todd said. "We've lost three games now to really good football teams. We've got to come back next week, and we've got to come back (today). This is going to be a tough one to get over, but we will. Our kids are resilient and they have a tremendous amount of grit." With the game square at 21, the Falcons won the overtime toss and elected to play defense first. Wadsworth started the drive with a pair of runs by Will Stack (5 carries, 17 yards, TD; 7 catches, 74 yards). The first went 8 yards and the second 0, but a facemask penalty gave Wadsworth first-and-goal at the 6. Kyle Figuray (31 carries, 111 yards) took it the final 6 yards on a bruising run to give the Grizzlies a 28-21 lead. It took just four plays for Fitch to answer and force a second overtime when D.J. Williams (33 carries, 141 yards, 2 TDs) carried 5 yards for a score. The drive was also aided by a facemask penalty after two runs from Williams netted just 3 yards. The Grizzlies were poised to close the game when DeShawn Vaughn Jr. (11-of-17, 111 yards, TD, INT; 12 carries, 141 yards, 2 TDs) was picked off by Grizzlies linebacker Ian Kaufman on the Falcons' second play. Things suddenly turned against Wadsworth in a big way when Figuray, bulling his way for extra yards, suffered what appeared to be a significant lower leg injury on his 31st carry. One play later, Jack Dinwiddie's 23-yard field goal attempt for the win was blocked by the center of the Fitch defense, sending the game into a third overtime. "He's an animal," Todd said of Figuray. "He is one of my favorite players I have ever coached, but Kyle just embodies what all of our other players are. He plays so hard because he loves his teammates, and they play hard for him because they love him. I just feel bad for our kids — not that Fitch's kids didn't deserve to win — but our kids deserved to win that game." Fischer (17-of-37, 285 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INT) threw a low, back-shoulder pass and Davis Nye (4 catches, 73 yards) made a spectacular catch for a 20-yard score to push Wadsworth in front 35-28. "It's amazing to have guys like that," Fischer said. "We work it all the time in practice, and we both have confidence that I am going to make the throw and they are going to make the catch." The Falcons needed just three plays to even things again, with Vaughn Jr. finding Dan Evans III for a 17-yard touchdown to set up the fourth overtime. D.J. Williams had carries of 4 and 16 yards for the Falcons, with the latter resulting in a 42-35 edge with another Wadsworth possession to follow. A pass interference penalty on the Grizzlies' first play gave them first-and-goal from the 10, and a pair of incompletions from Fischer set up a critical third down. The senior tried for the back-shoulder end zone toss again, but the pass was intercepted by Pritchard. Special teams were an issue for the Grizzlies, as they allowed an Evans 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, a 43-yard punt return to Evans and missed a first-quarter extra point. "Our kids played their absolute hearts out," Todd said. "Our special teams were very un-special tonight, and I'll take responsibility for that. They've been really good this year, but in two of our losses I would attribute it to special teams. That's something I've got to get us better at." The Wadsworth defense, despite the high final output, played tremendously, allowing just 127 first-half yards and 339 in regulation to a team that came in averaging 39.3 points. "They were lights out," Todd said. "They are always like that. They are tough, they are physical and they battle like crazy. All our kids do. They battle for every inch." The teams combined for 19 penalties for 166 yards, with the Grizzlies getting flagged four times for holding and the Falcons committing four personal fouls. Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Fitch 42, Wadsworth 35 (4OT) AUSTINTOWN FITCH 0 7 7 7 21 7 7 0 7 — 42 WADSWORTH 0 13 8 0 7 7 0 0 — 35 Second W — Will Stack 2 run (Jack Dinwiddie kick), 6:08. A — Dan Evans III 87 kickoff return (Josiah Berni kick), 5:55. W — Aaron Keating 32 pass from Luke Fischer (kick failed), 4:30. Third F — DeShawn Vaugh Jr. 79 run (Berni kick), 9:57. W — Stack 8 pass from Fischer (Keating pass from Stack), 5:53. Fourth F — Vaughn 7 run (Berni kick), 8:06. First overtime W — Kyle Figuray 6 run (Dinwiddie kick) F — D.J. Williams 5 run (Berni kick) Third overtime W — Davis Nye 20 pass from Fischer (Dinwiddie kick) F — Evans III 17 pass from Vaughn (Berni kick) Fourth overtime F — Williams 14 run (Berni kick) &emsp;&emsp;A &emsp;&emsp;W First downs &emsp;&emsp;15 &emsp;&emsp;22 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;47/287 41/110 Rushing average &emsp;&emsp;6.1 &emsp;&emsp;2.7 Passing &emsp;&emsp;11/17&emsp;&emsp;17/37 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;111 &emsp;&emsp;285 Total offense &emsp;&emsp;64/398 78/395 Punting &emsp;&emsp;4/23.3 3/26.7 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;12/108 &emsp;&emsp;7/58 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;1/0 &emsp;&emsp;0/0 RUSHING: Austintown Fitch — Williams 33-141, Vaughn 12-141, J'Allen Underwood 1-5, Jamell James 1-0. Wadsworth — Figuray 31-111, Stack 5-17, Nathan Metzger 1-(-1), Fischer 4-(-17). PASSING: Austintown Fitch — Vaughn 11-17-111-1. Wadsworth — Fischer 17-37-285-2. RECEIVING: Austintown Fitch — Jayden Eley 2-49, Evans III 6-33, Williams 2-26, Cam Smith 1-3. Wadsworth — Aaron Keating 4-101, Stack 7-74, Nye 4-73, Figuray 1-19, Tommy Arnold 1-18. MISSED FIELD GOALS: Fitch — Berni 25 (WL), Wadsworth — Dinwiddie 23 (BLK).