Guardians, Card deck Red Raiders
                  Sunday, September 23, 2001

                  By John McGuirk
                  CORRESPONDENT 

                  WORCESTER -- With St. Peter-Marian
                  averaging 40 points in its first two games,
                  Fitchburg High coach Ray Cosenza knew
                  his defense would have to improve to have
                  a chance against the Guardians yesterday.
                       The Red Raiders' defense did its job,
                  holding the high-powered Guardians to just
                  13 points, but Fitchburg (1-2) couldn't
                  score and unbeaten SPM claimed a 13-0
                  victory in Division 1.
                        "I thought defensively we played very
                  well, but it's a shame that we wasted a
                  defensive effort like that,"Cosenza said.
                  "We were awful offensively. I've never had
                  a team take the field offensively as bad as
                  we were today."
                       The shutout was the second in three
                  weeks for the Red Raiders. Xaverian
                  blanked them in the opener, 28-0.
                       Senior running back Derrick Card led
                  the Guardians with 155 yards on 25 carries,
                  and scored both touchdowns. As a team,
                  SPM (3-0) gained 230 yards (141 in the
                  first half).
                       "Derrick ran hard and our fullback,
                  Bobby Horan (61 yards on 11 carries), kept
                  everybody honest in the middle," SPM
                  coach Owen Kilcoyne said.
                       Fitchburg's poor offensive performance
                  was a combination of some solid SPM
                  defense, an inability to come up with big
                  plays, and mental mistakes.
                       Two cases in point:
                       Trailing, 7-0, in the first quarter,
                  Fitchburg recovered a fumble and drove to
                  the SPM 1-yard line. But the Guardians
                  stopped the Red Raiders to take over on
                  downs.
                       The other came with SPM leading 13-0
                  just before the half. In the waning seconds,
                  quarterback Brian Bouvier saw receiver
                  Frank Sienkiewicz had beaten his man.
                  However, Sienkiewicz dropped the ball
                  and Fitchburg once again came away empty.
                       Fitchburg finished with 127 total yards.
                  That number could have been better had it
                  not been for several dropped passes and
                  some ill-timed penalties.
                       "We did what we had to do as far as
                  we're concerned," Kilcoyne said.
                  "Fitchburg is a good football team. They
                  were the most aggressive team we've
                  played so far this season. Our defense
                  really rose to the occasion (on the goal-line
                  play). It was a big, key play for us."
                       The Guardians wasted little time getting
                  on the board. On their first possession, they
                  drove 73 yards behind Card and Horan,
                  with Card rumbling in from 23 yards out to
                  give SPM a 7-0 lead.
                       While Fitchburg failed to capitalize on
                  its scoring chances, SPM added to its lead.
                  With just 36 seconds before halftime, Card
                  busted in from 2 yards out to cap a 53-yard,
                  seven-play drive.
                       "We felt before the game that if we held
                  (SPM) to 13 points, we should win the
                  football game," Cosenza said.
                       "There are no excuses for what we did
                  offensively. But defensively (SPM) played
                  very well. They played a great football
                  game."
                       SPM also did a nice job in eating up the
                  clock in the final quarter when it consumed
                  nearly seven minutes to keep the Red
                  Raiders on defense.
                       "We feel good about beating Fitchburg,"
                  Kilcoyne said. "That's because of
                  Fitchburg's reputation. It's a great team to
                  get a win out of." 

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