Raiders remain perfect
Friday, October 13, 2000
 
Fitchburg 31 Xaverian 14

FITCHBURG -- Fitchburg finished its midseason trilogy
against three powerful opponents by rolling over Xaverian,
31-14, last night at Crocker Field.
         Fitchburg improved to 6-0 while the Westwood-based
Hawks dropped to 4-2. Prior to beating Xaverian, Fitchburg
defeated St.  John's and Brockton.
         "It's a great feat," Fitchburg coach Ray
Cosenza said. "It's a tremendous thing for our
program. People asked us if we were crazy playing Brockton
and Xaverian back to back and with St. John's before that. I
told our kids this is the way we like it and our kids
responded."
         Dating back to last year, Fitchburg has won 12
straight games. Last season, the Red Raiders opened the
season 1-4 before finishing 7-4.
         Fitchburg broke open a tight game by scoring 14
points in the third quarter, spearheaded by the play of
quarterback Jason Twomley.
         The senior rushed for 93 yards on 11 carries and a
score and was 3-for-8 passing for 54 yards and one
touchdown.
         "We knew we could beat them and we came out and
did it," Twomley said. "It's unbelievable to beat two
Eastern Mass.  powerhouses like that. I don't think anybody
expected it."
         Fitchburg set the tone early as Frank McDonald took
the opening kickoff 85 yards for a score. Following an
interception by Mike Thomas, Fitchburg was back at it.
         Starting from the Hawks' 42, the Red Raiders used
eight plays before Twomley hit Tim Keenan for a 13-yard
touchdown pass with 3:57 remaining in the initial quarter to
give Fitchburg a 14-0 lead.
         "You cannot come here and spot a team 14 points
and expect a lot of great things to happen," Hawks coach
Charlie Stevenson said.
         Xaverian got one back midway through the second
quarter. In a drive that covered 66 yards, the Hawks needed
17 plays before Giovani Benson (140 yards on 22 carries)
dived in from a yard out.
         "We were not happy with the way our kids played
in the first half," Cosenza said. "We told them at
halftime that it's time to step up and they all
answered."
         After the Red Raiders held Xaverian on downs deep
inside Fitchburg territory to begin the second half, the
hosts capitalized.
         A 31-yard run by B.J. Fitz ignited a 66-yard drive
sealed by McDonald's 2-yard scoring jaunt to make it 21-7
with 3:31 showing in the quarter.
         After the Hawks could do nothing on their ensuing
possession, Twomley wasted little time padding the Red
Raiders' lead.
         On his first play from scrimmage, Twomley ran a
draw up the middle for a 38-yard scoring run with 18 seconds
remaining in the quarter to make it 28-7.
         Ryan Logan added a 23-yard field goal late in the
fourth before the Hawks scored on David Nelson's 22-yard run
in the game's final minute.  

Fitchburg
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