Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Warren G. Harding’s Mahki Brogden (10) fights for yardage against Austintown Fitch defenders during the first half of a game on Friday in Warren.

WARREN — Austintown Fitch and Warren G. Harding finished up two very different regular seasons Friday evening at Mollenkopf Stadium.

With a 35-0 victory, the Falcons extended their win streak to eight as they enter the postseason, while the Raiders suffered their fourth straight loss and were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

“Special performance by a lot of guys,” Fitch head coach T.J. Parker said. “That was a complete team effort in all three phases. Defense coming out here and shutting them out, getting the ball back to the offense consistently. And with the athletes they have over there … I think it was just a three-phase game that our kids played for all four quarters.”

Both teams deployed a heavy rushing attack Friday, but only Fitch found success early in the regular-season finale.

After forcing a Harding three-and-out that consisted of three runs for 4 yards, the Falcons primarily leaned on feature back Deon’Dray Richard as they made their way down the field. Although Junie Higgs and Brady Evans each picked up first downs, Richard carried the ball five times for 31 yards, including a 4-yard rushing touchdown, on the nine-play opening drive.

Harding, which had failed to score more than 10 points in any of its previous three games, began to take a more aggressive approach back on offense.

On the second play of the drive, Amiere Cobb took a deep shot to Julius Ferrell, which fell incomplete. Cobb went back to the air the next play, completing a 9-yard pass to Kai Blutcher for a first down.

After three consecutive short runs by Makhai Brogden, the Raiders then faked a punt and picked up just enough for another first down.

The risks eventually came with a price, though, as Cobb on his second consecutive deep throw, was intercepted by Davanzo Tate III at the 3-yard line.

Nearly halfway through the second quarter, Fitch’s offense was forced off the field after three plays. But instead of Jaxon Faulkner, the Falcons’ punter and kicker, back to take the snap, Evans did as part of an unorthodox formation.

Evans took the ball and immediately threw it to a streaking DeAndre Reed, Fitch’s 6-foot-4 tight end, who caught the pass, bounced off defenders and rumbled to a 55-yard touchdown reception.

Harding put together its best drive of the game immediately afterward, as Cobb and Matt Richardson ran for 29 and 27 yards, respectively, on back-to-back plays to reach the Falcons’ 11-yard line. However, over the next four plays, the Raiders managed to go backward 2 yards and turn the ball over on downs.

After halftime, Fitch effectively iced the game with a 17-play, 90 yard touchdown opening drive that took up all but the final 76 seconds of the third quarter. During the possession, the Falcons ran the ball 14 times, including Higgs’ 3-yard score, and received help from the Raiders, who committed a dead-ball personal foul after stopping Fitch well short of the first down on third-and-19.

“Disappointed with a lot of the penalties,” Harding head coach Matt Richardson said. “It starts at the top with me. I got a lot of work to do as we move into the offseason. … I’m more concerned with how we behaved than how we play. And I don’t like how we behaved at the end of the game.”

Fitch increased its lead to 28-0 early in the fourth quarter, when Collin Kalaher connected with Reed for a 12-yard touchdown.

After Isaiah Porch made a one-handed diving interception, Matt Richardson recorded an interception of his own near the Raiders’ goal line.

With 2:52 to go, Richard put Fitch up by five scores, triggering a running clock, with a short touchdown run.

The loss, Harding’s sixth in the last seven meetings with Fitch, erased a slim chance the Raiders had of qualifying for the postseason. Instead, Harding finished the season at 3-6, having lost all four games in October while scoring just 27 total points.

“I’m proud of the way our team fought,” Richardson said of the season. “We went through a lot of injuries, losing our quarterback, losing a couple different guys. Proud of the way the guys fought.”

Fitch (8-1) had already clinched a top-8 seed, and thus a first-round home game in the playoffs, but with the win, the Falcons may have earned one of the top four seeds, which would allow them to have a bye next week.

The playoff brackets are set to be released Sunday by the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA).

“It’s a completely new season,” Parker said. “Now that it’s down to 12, it’s the best teams in Ohio. And we’re staring at some of the best teams in the country in our region.”