Inexperience plagues defending champs
 By Chad Garner
 Staff Writer

  FITCHBURG -- Not many people are jumping on the
Fitchburg High football bandwagon this season.

The reason is simple.

The Red Raiders, coming off a perfect 12-0 season and a
Division 1 Central/Western Mass. Super Bowl title, have been
devastated by graduation. The Red Raiders lost a total of 22
seniors -- eight starters on offense and nine on defense.

But you won't hear the FHS faithful make excuses for a team
that comes into the 2001 campaign with a wealth of
inexperience scattered all over the field.

 "I think we do lack some experience, but they've been
practicing for three weeks and are getting better," said
13th-year FHS coach Ray Cosenza. "They are going to go and
compete.  We're not going to use any excuses and say 'We're
young.'  We're just going to go in and compete ... that's
the way our kids are approaching it and that's the way our
staff is approaching it. The one thing is, is our kids will
come to play. That's one thing that we can guarantee. I'm
convinced we're going to keep improving throughout the
year. Our kids are going to play to win. They are not making
excuses and our program is not making excuses.

"We're not going to back down. Our kids will go out and play
and try to win," he continued.  "They've heard how many kids
we've lost, they've heard from other people how we're going
to be down and they're not buying it and neither do I. After
11 games, if it happens, then I'll agree to that. But right
now our kids are going to play and play hard every single
time they take the field."

The Red Raiders open their Super Bowl defense 1:30
p.m. Saturday on the road against Eastern Mass. power
Xaverian.

The major losses for the Red Raiders include: Frank
McDonald, Jason Twomley, Jim Alexander, Tim Keenan, Marcus
DiNatale, Tim Roy, Anthony Fanelli, Mike Thomas, Tim Caron,
Josh Raboin and Sean Roy.

The Red Raiders offense, which runs out of the I-formation,
must finds replacements for three-year starting quarterback
Twomley, who rushed for 860 yards and scored 11 TDs and
threw for 8 TDs, and tailback McDonald who jolted for 1,400
yards with 26 TDs.

The only experienced player in the backfield is senior
fullback Norman Cole who scored 10 TDs and rushed for 950
yards as a junior.

"We had a three-year starter like McDonald and a three-year
starter like Twomley leading the way it made things a lot
easier," said Cosenza. "This year some people are going to
have to step up. We expect Cole, this is his third year as a
starter, to do some great things. I don't know if we have a
focal point, but I think he is going to have to really step
up for us, especially early on. We know when we give Norman
that ball there is a lot of speed and power there and
tremendous experience."

The replacement for McDonald will be 5-foot-9, 170-pound
freshman William Early.

"(Early) has very good speed and he has great vision. He's
going to be a great one," said Cosenza. "He won the tailback
job. Even though he's a freshman, he really did a tremendous
job in the preseason. He is going to be an outstanding
football player. I don't look at him like a freshman because
of the way he carries himself. I expect him to do some great
things."

Senior B.J. Fitz will serve as a backup at fullback and
tailback, while junior C.J. Jones also will see time at
tailback.

Junior Ryan Logan, who will also do the kicking duties,
comes in as the No. 1 quarterback and will be backed up by
senior Brian Bouvier.

"(Logan's) a great athlete and he throws the ball really
well," said Cosenza. "With experience we expect great things
out of him. We're going to have to bring him along slow, but
he's already showed flashes of what type of talent he has."

The offensive line, who lost all of its starters, will be
led by junior tackle Steve Marella who gained experience
last year when Caron went down with an injury. Freshman
Anthony Murray will start at center, sophomore Joe Golden
and senior Joe Rouse at guard, junior Mark Thomas at tackle,
and juniors Aaron Storm and Andy Swett at tight end.

"We ran the ball right at people, we had four out of our
five offensive linemen returning, so we were able to do a
lot more," said Cosenza. "We're just going to be a little
bit more basic this year and try to get good at the things
that we do and we're going to have to do a few things
different. We're going to throw the ball a little more I
think. We've made the most improvements up front from Day 1
until now. They're more confident. I see some great things
from this offensive line."

Senior Ryan Davenport returns at wide receiver, alongside
senior Frank Sienkiewicz.

The base 5-2 defense also lacks experience with Marella at
linebacker as the only player with experience.

"We need 11 guys to the football, but our key to our defense
has been so far Steve Marella at inside linebacker," said
Cosenza. "He's going to be outstanding. He's going to get
better and he's the only person that saw considerable action
on defense last year. He's going to have to take
charge. He's big, he's strong, he runs well and he has a
great nose for the ball."

Swett and sophomore Matt Lamey start at defensive ends,
junior John Lewis and senior Nate Glenny at the tackles, and
sophomore Golden or senior Dwayne Tiggs at nose
tackle. Storm will join Marella at linebacker. Logan and
Davenport start on the corners, with Bouvier at free safety
and Fitz at strong safety.

Davenport, Cole, Fitz and Marella will serve as the team
captains.

With so many inexperienced players that must play key
starting roles this season, another Super Bowl run may be an
unrealistic goal.

Or is it?

"I think it is. I think it always is," said Cosenza. "Every
year we feel that way, but I'm not going to come out and say
that we're going to the Super Bowl, but that's what we're
striving for and that's what we play for. Our goal every
year is to be in that position. So I guess that's an
expectation. I know our league is strong, but anything can
happen. If you're a little lucky and don't have injuries I
think we can compete with everyone on our schedule. But
that's yet to be seen. We'll see what happens."  
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