Austintown-Fitch Surges Past McDowell In Second Half, 48-10

Tagged under: Beyond The Keystone, District 10, Game Photos-Videos, Gameday Hub, News, Non-PIAA, pfn

Shane Lux | October 10, 2026

Erie – Austintown-Fitch outscored McDowell 31-0 in the second half to secure their 6th consecutive victory.

For Austintown-Fitch, playing across the state line has been a lot of fun this season, as the Falcons improved to a 3-0 record against the Keystone State. In fact, they’ve made it look easy, outscoring their opponents 167-16.

In mid-September, the Falcons routed Butler 77-6 and Erie High 42-0. McDowell showed plenty of fight in a tight first half, but Fitch’s overwhelming talent ultimately proved too much.

The Falcons piled up 576 total yards and forced four turnovers. The first turnover came on a strip-sack on the second snap, setting them up at the Trojans’ 30-yard line.

Five plays later, Deon’Dray Richard opened the scoring with a 10-yard run just over two minutes in.

The Trojans put together a 12-play, 64-yard drive, and Joseph Clark booted a 25-yard field goal.

Fitch answered immediately, capping a 6-play, 94-yard drive with a 77-yard touchdown pass from Collin Kalaher to Antwan Williams Jr., putting the Falcons up 14-3 after a quarter.

McDowell pulled within 14-10 on Evan Kuhn’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Lincoln early in the second quarter, but that was the closest the Trojans would get.

Kuhn would lead McDowell, going 17 for 33 passing for 206 yards and a touchdown, but was also intercepted three times.

Kalib Myers connected on his first of two field goals to give Fitch a 17-10 lead, which they held at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Falcons faced a 3rd-and-7 at their 43-yard line, a potential punt; instead, Kalaher threw his second long touchdown bomb of the night to Al-Tahire Illuono, covering 57 yards.

“We made mistakes in the first half; I threw a pick in the red zone. It was little things like that,” Kalaher said. “We knew coming into the second half that we have playmakers. For us, it was about limiting mistakes, like careless penalties, in the first half. Our playmakers really picked it up; we came out with intensity and came out on top. We talked at halftime about how we’re up one score, and if we take the ball and go down and score, whether it’s in two plays or a long drive, it’s really going to hurt their momentum.”

He completed 14 of 21 passes for 271 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

“My receivers made it easy on me,” said Kalaher. “It’s easy to get them the ball with the talent they have.”

Near the quarter’s midway point, Richard ripped off a 77-yard touchdown run, Fitch’s third scoring play covering at least 57 yards. Richard rushed for 133 yards on 14 carries.

“We turned the ball over three times in the first half, and missed a field goal, but we were still in the game at the half at 17-10,” said McDowell head coach Aaron Slocum. “We came out in the second half, got them in a 3rd-and-long, and gave up a touchdown. We then turned the ball over again and gave up another 3rd-and-long. We just didn’t execute. I give them a lot of credit; they played really well. But we didn’t help ourselves at all.”

Kalib Myers drilled a 27-yard field goal, and Dyionn Tutwiler dragged about five players 13 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown, before the Falcons closed the scoring on Najeh Sam’s 85-yard touchdown run with 54 seconds to play.

McDowell will look to bounce back next Friday night when they host St. Francis.

“This is one of those look in the mirror kind of games,” Slocum concluded. “We’ll definitely still find positives from this, learn from tonight and use it to get better. We’ll keep plugging away.”

Austintown-Fitch will look to keep their momentum going when they host Boardman.

Game Highlights

Austintown-Fitch 48 McDowell 10

Score by Quarters

Austintown-Fitch 14 3 14 17 – 48
McDowell 3 7 0 0 – 10

First Quarter

AF – Deon’Dray Richard 10 yd run, (Kalib Myers pat), 9:58 – 5-30

N – Joseph Clark 25 yd field goal, 4:48 – 12-64

AF – Antwan Williams Jr. 77 yd pass from Collin Kalaher, (Myers pat), 2:37 – 6-94

Second Quarter

M – Taylor Lincoln 34 yd pass from Evan Kuhn, (Clark pat), 9:40 – 6-50

AF – Myers 32 yd field goal, 7:38 – 10-65

Third Quarter

AF – Al-Tahire Illuono 57 yd pass from Kalaher, (Myers pat), 10:53 – 3-60

AF – Richard 77 yd run, (Myers pat), 5:25 – 3-92

Fourth Quarter

AF – Myers 27 yd field goal, 10:14 – 8-60

AF – Dyionn Tutwiler 13 yd run, (Myers pat), 5:07 – 4-34

AF – Najeh Sam 85 yd run, (Myers pat), 0:54 – 2-91

Individual Stats

Rushing: AF – Richard 14-133, Dyionn Tutwiler 10-86, Kalaher 2-5, Sam 1-85, Landon Masterson 1-4, Mykaim Barnette 1-2. Totals: 29-315. M – Chase Carrick 13-30, Kuhn 10-2, Juel Heidelberg 3-10, Braelyn Wilson 3-7, Brayden Powell 1-0, Johnix Blanks 1-(-9), Team 1-(-9). Totals: 32-31.

Receiving: AF – Williams Jr. 2-72, Illuono 2-81, Richard 4-28, Wayne Holloway 4-53, Isaiah Porch 1-37, Tutwiler 1-0. M – Lincoln 3-48, Deonte Flemings 3-25, James Feronti 6-48, Carrick 2-32, Cash Hammond 3-53.

Passing: AF – Kalaher 14-for-21, 271 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT. M – Kuhn 17-for-33, 206 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT; Robbie Grygier 0-for-1.

Interceptions: AF – Porch (2), Holloway. M – Ben Spooner.