Friday, October 13, 2000
By Rich Garven
Telegram & Gazette Staff 

                                                                      

The hunt for Red (Raiders) October continues.

         The Fitchburg High football team will attempt to
submarine another unsuspecting foe when it takes on highly
regarded Xaverian of Westwood at 7 tonight at Crocker Field.
         The Red Raiders descended into rowdy Rocky Marciano
Stadium last weekend and emerged with a 28-14 victory over
Brockton, which was ranked as high as third in one Eastern
Mass. poll.
         Now comes eighth-ranked Xaverian, a Catholic
Conference power that has won four Super Bowls in the last
six years. The Hawks are 3-1 this season with the loss
coming to Brockton, 17-7.
         The Xaverian game will cap an unbelievable
three-week run for Fitchburg that started with a 20-17 win
over St. John's on Sept. 29.
         "We've got to come to play, obviously," FHS
coach Ray Cosenza of his 5-0 team, which is ranked first in
the Telegram & Gazette Top 10 poll. "This week is even
tougher because we're coming off a big win and it was a
physical game."
         As far as anyone can tell, it'll be the first
meeting between the schools, but Xaverian coach Charlie
Stevenson said he's well aware of the Fitchburg tradition.
         "They didn't have to beat Brockton to gain some
notoriety," said Stevenson, who has a career record of
61-16 at the Westwood school. "I kind of thought they'd
beat Brockton before they played."
         The schools have one thing in common: Both have
dominated Brockton in recent years.  Fitchburg has beaten
the Boxers four of the last five seasons, while the Hawks
had also taken four of five before losing this year.
         Xaverian has produced a number of outstanding
quarterbacks, including current collegians Tim Hasselbeck
(Boston College), Brian Mann (Dartmouth) and Mike Schlittler
(Stonehill). Matt Hasselbeck, Tim's older brother, is with
the Green Bay Packers after starring for Xaverian and BC.
         Mobile junior Joe Bickerstaffe is the Hawks' latest
QB, but the real star is senior tailback Giovanni
Benson. The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder has scored five touchdowns
in three games and been called one of the school's best
running backs ever.
         An ankle injury caused Benson to miss a game, but
he returned last week to score twice in a win over
Taunton. Stevenson said Benson will start tonight.
         Benson's replacement, senior Jon Loiacono, rushed
for 134 yards and four TDs in his one start. Both backs
benefit from a solid line that's built around seniors Nick
Tropeano (6-3, 265) and Derek Anderson (6-2, 220).
         For Fitchburg, senior tailback Frank McDonald is
expected to start after suffering a hip injury against
Brockton.

Wild, wild west

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