Leominster 'D' (5 turnovers) manhandles Milford High
By Corey Peter Goodman
Sports Editor


LEOMINSTER -- What was billed as a key Division 1 Central
Mass.  matchup Friday night looked more like a preseason
clinic on tackling, special teams and ball control at Doyle
Field.

Unfortunately for visiting Milford High, the lesson never
sunk in.

The Leominster High defense and special teams unit flew
around the ball for 44 minutes, forcing five turnovers,
while holding the Scarlet Hawks to just 86 total yards in a
dominating, 25-0, victory.

"We're thrilled," said Leominster coach John
Dubzinski. "They beat us 22-7 last year down there, so it
was nice to play a good game tonight."

The Blue Devils were more than good in recording their sixth
straight win. Of Milford's 86 yards of total offense, 41
came on the team's desperate, last-second drive.

In addition, Leominster made Milford quarterback Mike
Plichta's evening a painful one, both literally and
figuratively.

Plichta, one of the top passers in Central Mass., spent most
of the night on his back. He threw four interceptions, one
for a Leominster touchdown, and three inside Blue Devil
territory.

"The defense played a great, great game," said Dubzinski,
whose Blue Devils have shut out two straight
opponents. "Milford is one of those good teams in our
league. But we forced some interceptions, put some pressure
on him."

On offense, Leominster made another huge statement. For the
first week, standout running back Kevin L'Ecuyer didn't
carry the team (65 yards on 18 carries).

Instead, quarterback Kevin Barnaby had his best first-half
of the season, completing 4-of-5 passes for 92 yards and two
touchdowns.

"Kevin had a great game. He looked good," Dubzinski
said. "It was a good all-around win for us."

Leominster went up 6-0 on its first possession, driving 71
yards downfield on nine plays.

L'Ecuyer, who broke two tackles up the middle on an 18-yard
TD scamper, was upended at the goal line, but landed in the
end zone for the early Blue Devil lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Leominster recovered a fumble when
kicker Pat Moran booted a line drive off the body of an up
lineman. But the Blue Devils couldn't cash in from Milford
territory.

Still it didn't take long for the Blue Devils to make up for
the missed opportunity.

On their next possession, Barnaby drove the Devils
downfield. And on second-and-goal from the Milford 19-yard
line, the Leominster QB connected in the end zone with tight
end Bobby LeBlanc with 8:30 left until halftime.

Leominster tacked on another score before halftime when
Barnaby hit wideout Blake Curry over the middle for a
34-yard score with 1:23 left.

"The coaches did a great job (tonight)," said Dubzinski.

Moran, who had an outstanding game with a huge third-quarter
sack, capped the scoring by picking off Plichta at the
Milford 14 and trotting in for the final score.

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