The ultimate Rivalry: Red Raiders vs. Blue Devils

For many decades, the Fitchburg-Leominster rivalry has
brought men, women and children from both sides of the
Nashua River to see their respective teams do battle. Ever
since the first game back on Oct. 20, 1894, at what was
known as "The Park" in Leominster, Fitchburg and
Leominster residents have had an annual - and in some
cases biannual - football game between rivals to count
on.

And today, over a century later, the young men from the
Scripture Road (FHS) and Granite Street (LHS) schools
continue to take to the gridiron before they take to the
Thanksgiving table.

"The Rivalry" is in its 116th year. Here's a quick
peek at the games played so far in the final decade of the
millennium.

Nov. 22, 1990: at Crocker Field 

Leominster continued its dominance (only three losses since
1971) by winning its sixth straight game since 1985, this
one by a 27-0 score in front of 8,500 frigid fans. With the
win, LHS went on to win the Super Bowl against St. John's
of Shrewsbury. The Red Raiders were helpless in the game, as
senior running back Mark Matthews and junior running back
Mike Wallace ran all over the Red and Gray. Matthews (9
carries for 100 yards) and Wallace (13 carries for 169
years) did a bulk of the scoring for Leominster. "I was
practicing my cuts all week l long. We kept practicing until
we couldn't practice anymore," Matthews said.

One of Matthews' touchdown happened pretty easily - on a
fourth-and-three from the Leominster 33, Fitchburg
quarterback Dan Brasili rolled to his left and tried to find
Derek Gendron.  Corner back Jay Gagnon stepped in front of
the pass, picking it off and bolting down the sideline
before being gang-tackled at the Fitchburg 15 by Bill
Paskell. Several plays later, Matthews scored from nine
yards out for the touchdown.

"This game was Leominster football at its finest,"
Leominster coach John Dubzinski said after the game.

Nov. 28, 1991: at Doyle Field
 

The unthinkable happened in the Plastics City on this Turkey
Day: Fitchburg won. The Red Raiders won 14-0 for the first
time since 1984. FHS coach Ray Cosenza, coaching in his
third Fitchburg-Leominster game, said, "This is the best
thing in the world. This is the best in my coaching
career."

Zack McCall rushed for 184 yards on a career-high 39
carries, including the game-winning touchdown, a three-yard
run midway through the second quarter. Senior quarterback
Tom Kelley added the insurance points on a quarterback sneak
on fourth down.

Fitchburg went on to the Super Bowl, winning against North
Middlesex Regional.

Nov. 26, 1992: at Crocker Field
 

Crocker Field was a near quagmire on Thanksgiving morning.
Running up the middle was near impossible, so the sides
would have to do. And it was perfectly fine for Bobby
Williams (112 yards on 18 carries), who scored the
game-winning touchdown in a 14-13 win over Leominster. It
was the closest game since 1960, when the two schools played
to a 14-14 tie. Also, it was the first time since 1971-72
that FHS had won back-to-back games.

The game-winning drive started at the Fitchburg 37-yard
line, with Williams and Zack McCall (69 yards on 18 carries)
exchanging handoffs before Williams, a fullback, followed
the lead blocks of Jon "Moose" Salilla and Dave Souza
into the end zone. Leominster tried to set up a field goal,
but Ish Gelpi intercepted a pass from Ryan Gallagher to
pretty much seal the victory.

Nov. 25, 1993: at Doyle Field
 

The two schools battled it out under sunny skies, with
Fitchburg scoring last for a 44-40 win. It was (and still
is) the highest scoring game in the history of "The
Rivalry." It was also the first time since the 1920s that
FHS had won more than two games in a row. FHS won every game
from 1913 to 1924. The game saw 12 touchdowns, 872 yards of
offense between the teams, and five fourth quarter lead
changes.

The day would belong to Ryan Keenan (222 yards on 30 carries
with three touchdowns) as well as junior quarterback Todd
Steffanides, who threw for 144 yards including the
game-winning touchdown pass to James McCall with 39 seconds
left.

Leominster again tried to win it, with Bryan Mazzaferro
bringing it all the way down to the FHS three-yard line with
McCall dragging him down. Quarterback Bob Raxasack spiked
the ball before he handed off to John Miller, who made it as
far as the line of scrimmage.

"I have to look at that scoreboard again," said FHS
coach Ray Cosenza. "It was a great game that neither team
deserved to lose."

Nov. 24, 1994: at Crocker Field
 

Leominster fans were leaving for the greener pastures of the
Plastics City in the third quarter, after Fitchburg defeated
the Blue Devils 38-14. It was the fourth win in a row for
the Red Raiders. FHS broke out to a 22-0 lead at halftime.

Fitchburg scored on a 93-yard, nine-play drive which was
capped off with a two-yard plunge by freshman Lawrence
Yarbrough.

Several plays later, after Leominster had fumbled the kick,
Steffanides hooked up with Clarence Yarbrough for a
touchdown.  The "rookie" rushed for 77 yards on 16
carries while Greg Graham ran for 113 yards on 12
carries. Steffanides also ran for 140 yards on 13 carries,
as well as running for a touchdown and throwing for another.

Nov. 23, 1995: at Doyle Field
 

Ricky Morales was tied for the school record in scoring when
he woke up that morning. By 10:15 a.m., he had it. Morales
(202 yards on 16 carries) had a career day in the backfield
for the Red Raiders, scoring four touchdowns as well as
kicking an extra point to lead Fitchburg to a 38-6 win over
the Blue Devils.

While Morales shattered Billy Mackie's 62-year-old
scoring record of 141 points in a season, it was Chris Roy
who also had a career morning, rushing for 138 yards on 10
carries. In the process, Roy went over the 1000-yard rushing
mark for the season.

Morales scored the first of his four touchdowns from 18
yards out on a counter, before Devin Gates rolled out and
into the end zone for a touchdown. Morales ended up with 166
points scored, and the final score was the largest margin of
victory since 1927, which Fitchburg won 64-0.

Nov. 28, 1996: at Crocker Field
 

And it's now tied. Fitchburg claimed its sixth straight
win with a 28-19 win over the Blue and White. And even
though they came out on the losing end, it finished off
Leominster's best season (8-3) since 1990. Chris Roy was
the star of the game, rushing for 191 yards on 18 carries to
go along with two touchdowns. Devin Gates - who had thrown
only one touchdown pass all year - threw three strikes into
the end zone, two of which going to Rob Sequin.

"Chris Roy played a tremendous football game on both
sides of the ball. He's been great on offense all year,
but the way he picked it up on defense today. He saved his
best for this game," said Cosenza.

Nov. 27, 1997: at Doyle Field
 

It didn't stay tied for long. Leominster finally edges
past Fitchburg for the first time since the beginning of the
decade, defeating the Red and Gray 26-8.

The Blue Devil defense did the job, holding Fitchburg to 173
yards offense in the game. Andy LeBlanc had 121 yards of it,
rushing for 101 yards while hooking up with Tom Snow for 20
yards on a halfback option pass. Leominster's Skip
Collins ran for 125 yards with two touchdowns, while
quarterback Shaun Jordan ran for the other one. Corey Adams
had 15 tackles for the Blue Devils.

"I'm so happy for these kids, so proud of how they
played," said Dubzinski following the game.

Nov. 27, 1998: at Crocker Field
 

It's tied again. Fitchburg easily subdued the Blue Devils
21-7.

All of FHS's points were scored in the first half, as
well as having a 251-21 first half advantage in
yardage. Dustin LeBlanc went for 169 yards on the ground
with two touchdowns, while receiving for 61 yards and a
touchdown. Andy LeBlanc rushed for 152 yards.

After Dallas Heckel picked off Jon Quinn, the Red Raiders
needed only 10 plays to get on the board. Jason Twomley
capped off the drive with a one-yard run with 4:31 left in
the half.  Twomley also connected with Dustin LeBlanc on a
50-yard screen pass before Dustin scored again, which was
his 17th touchdown of the season. Tim Nowakunski scored
Leominster's touchdown, on a 15-yard run.

Nov. 25, 1999: at Doyle Field ...
 

Fitchbburg regains the series lead with a 38-21 win at Doyle
Field, while upping its consecutive streak to seven. Backed
by the rushing antics of junior quarterback Jason Twomley
(over 200 yards) and senior tailback Jason Quinn, the Red
Raiders jump out to an early 14-0 lead before Leominster can
respond.

But it wouldn't be nearly enough, as Leominster senior
quarterback Paul LeBlanc rallied his troops to pull within a
touchdown once in the first half and twice in the second
half. A key touchdown run by Twomley before halftime gave
the Raiders a key, 20-7 lead.

After LeBlanc and the Blue Devils cut their deficits to
20-14, and 26-21, however, the Raiders responded behind
Twomley, whose 63-yard touchdown run and two-yard run by
Norman Cole gave Fitchburg all it would need.
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