Fitz keeps promise to father
By Rick Eggleston
Staff Writer  

LEOMINSTER -- BJ Fitz had a special promise to keep.
And on a day when special things are almost certain to
happen, the Fitchburg High senior safety came through in a
big way not only for the Red Raiders, but more importantly,
his family, too.

"I saw the (Leominster receiver) coming out, I read him,
stopped on my feet like (FHS defensive) coach (Craig)
Chalifoux taught me, and I just intercepted the ball,"
recalled Fitz of his late fourth quarter snag of Leominster
quarterback Kevin Barnaby's pass and subsequent 21-yard
touchdown return to cap a stunning, 26-14 FHS win Thursday
at Doyle Field.

"It means a real lot to me."

Indeed, it did.

Before the season began, Fitz looked -- just like he'd done
numerous other times since he started playing football at
FHS -- skyward to his late father, Willam Henry Fitz, Jr.,
for guidance. But this season -- Fitz's last for the Red and
Gray -- he hoped to fulfill a single promise to his father.

"I promised him I would get at least one touchdown for him
this year," Fitz said, "and I did."

Sure, it didn't matter where or when, just as long as Fitz
got himself into the end zone; he just had to do it for his
father, who died of a heart-attack when BJ was in the
seventh grade.

It's just that on an unseasonably warm and beautiful
late-November Thursday early afternoon, Fitz couldn't have
picked a better time, place, or opponent to rumble into the
end zone with the game-clinching TD -- Thanksgiving Day
against ancient rival Leominster at historic Doyle Field on
the very last game of the season.

"In a JV game my sophomore year, but never on varsity," said
Fitz, when asked if he'd ever intercepted a pass and
returned it for a touchdown. "It was all about who wanted it
more today, and I felt that we wanted it more than them. Our
defense is strong -- I love our defense."

And there was little to hate about it, except, of course, if
you were a Leominster fan.

Still, it wasn't like the Blue Devils were blown away in the
game, either, though FHS freshman sensation William Earley's
interception on the Devils' ensuing possession after Fitz's
steal and score with 59.3 seconds remaining, only added to
the Red Raiders' second-half dominance.

Meanwhile, FHS junior linebacker Steve Marella joined fellow
backer, senior Aaron Storm, in turning in awesome defensive
efforts. Marella himself was a one-man wrecking ball,
crashing through the Leominster line to rack up numerous
solo tackles, including a key second-quarter sack that threw
Barnaby back for a four-yard loss.

"We were all over the field, it was just crazy out here,"
Marella said. "I played in this game last year, but this
year it was more my team because I was a captain. I knew we
could win. We had been playing better at the end of the
year, so I knew we were going to win."

According to FHS senior running back Norman Cole, there was
no denying his team's immense presence on defense.

"Marella, he's a freak -- he's awesome," said Cole, whose
50-yard TD scamper early in the fourth quarter put the Red
Raiders out in front for good, 19-14. "I'm especially happy
for Fitzy. I'm happy he got that last touchdown, that was
for his father."

When reflecting upon his father, Fitz mentioned that he had
suffered from a bad heart. Maybe so, but on Thursday, Fitz
and the Red Raiders showed they had plenty of it.

And somewhere up there a proud father was smiling down upon
his son.  

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