RAVENNA – Austintown-Fitch didn’t have enough answers Friday night and the season came to an end in a 42-28 loss to Walsh Jesuit in a Division II, Region 5 regional semifinal.

No. 4 Fitch (9-4) dug itself too much of a hole early on and just could not do enough to climb out of it against top-seeded Walsh (13-0).

Walsh scored on a 44-yard run by Lucas Weaver on its first possession, Fitch answered with a 5-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Deon’Dray Richard to tie the game with 7:21 left in the first quarter.

But Walsh scored another touchdown on its next possession when Carlos Smith scored from 32 yards out.

On the ensuing Fitch possession, Richard was stopped on a fourth-and-2 around midfield and Walsh responded with another touchdown run — this one from 1 yard out by quarterback Keller Moten — to make it 21-7.

“We knew their offense was potent, so we felt like we had to go toe-to-toe to them offensively and put up points,” Fitch coach TJ Parker said of going for the fourth down. “And honestly, we missed on a block. Otherwise, I think we had it.”

Following a Fitch punt, Moten scored from 16 yards out to make it 28-7.

But this time, Fitch had a quick answer as the Falcons scored on a 3-yard run by Junie Higgs less than a minute after the Walsh score. The touchdown was set up by a 56-yard run by Richard.

Walsh, however, scored another touchdown in the final minute of the half as Moten hit Milan Parris for a 23-yard touchdown pass to give the Warriors a 35-14 halftime lead.

The Falcons then made their run in the second half.

Fitch started the second half with a 12-play drive that went 80 yards in 6:02 to cut the lead to 35-21 when Higgs scored on a 23-yard run.

That’s when the defense had its initial answer for the Walsh offense, forcing a punt for the first time in the game, but the offense couldn’t take advantage as Fitch drove to the Walsh 21, but three straight plays for negative yards and a delay of game forced the Falcons to punt with 9:29 left in the game.

That’s when Walsh took 6:13 off the clock and went 81 yards on 12 plays to ice the game on a 25-yard touchdown run by Moten.

Fitch scored one more time, as quarterback Colin Kalahar hit Brady Evans for an 11-yard score with 1:14 left in the game. Kalahar completed 9 of 13 passes for 92 yards.

“The message (to the team) was what you can accomplish when you believe and you give everything you have,” Parker said. “And in the second half, we played with passion and just we gave ourselves a chance, and that’s all we can ask for.”

Richard led the Fitch offense with 204 yards on 25 carries, while Higgs had eight carries for 48 yards.

The Falcons will use this season as a stepping stone for next year with a majority of their offensive production returning. The quarterback (Colin Kalahar), top two running backs (Richard and Higgs) and top two wide receivers (Brady Evans and Brayden Bryant) will all be back.

While thinking of next fall, Parker also wanted to reflect on this team, especially after they gave him a deeper playoff run than most people might have expected.

“It’s hard to think about next year when this senior class has given us so much,” Parker said. “But it’s potential. That’s all for you guys in the papers to talk about, but they have to do it. Every team’s different, and as much as we thought this was going to be a rebuilding year, they showed us we can get to regional semifinal games. So you can pencil us back here, but those guys have to do it.”