Questions answered: LHS going bowling
By Ross Edwards
Article Launched:11/22/2006 10:57:43 AM EST

LEOMINSTER -- When the season began there were plenty of questions,
but little certainty.

Slowly but surely, however, the Blue Devils have been filling in the
blanks, providing answers that have lifted the Leominster football
team to a 7-3 record and a second straight Western/Central
Mass. Division 1 Super Bowl appearance.

That isn't the game Leominster's focusing on now, though. Instead, the
Blue Devils have spent all of their time studying for a clash with
Fitchburg in one of the state's oldest Thanksgiving Day rivalries.

Last year, the Blue Devils ran all over the Red Raiders, 20-6, on a
snow-coated Crocker Field. Running back Jon Hernandez accounted for
258 rushing yards and all three Leominster touchdowns in the win.

This time around, Leominster will be looking to defend Doyle Field
against the invading Red Raiders.

"Both teams are going to probably play their best games of the year,"
said Leominster coach John Dubzinski. "We expect a 48-minute game that
will probably come down to the last minute or so.  Advertisement We
know Fitchburg's going to play great and our kids are working hard, we
expect to play a great game too. It should be a great game."

Questions swirled around the Leominster camp at the start of the
season. There were concerns about an inexperienced offensive line, as
well as a defense that brought back only a handful of starters.

The campaign began with a pair of tough losses to Everett and
Marlborough. Instead of panicking, the Blue Devils continued to
improve and went on to win seven of their next eight games to secure
the top spot in Division 1 and enter the Thanksgiving Day battle
favored to walk away with a victory.

"I think we made good progress in the first two games," said
Dubzinski. "Everett is a great team and we played them pretty
tough. And the Marlborough game was probably our worst half of
football. We played a good second half, but came up a little short.

"We learned a good lesson there, we learned we had to play the whole
game. It was a valuable lesson."

From there, the Blue Devils rebounded by knocking off a strong
St. John's of Shrewsbury squad, a win that Dubzinski described as "a
turning point in our season."

Defense led the way for Leominster, as the Blue Devils allowed a
combined 19 points from Week 3 through Week 7, never yielding more
than a single touchdown in any game during that span. In Week 8,
Leominster knocked off Eastern Mass. power Brockton, 26-15, for the
first time in 18 years as the defense held the Boxers to only two
scores.

It's a defensive unit that will have to step up if Leominster is going
to defend Doyle Field against a talented Fitchburg offense.

"They've done a nice job," said Dubzinski about the Red
Raiders. "They've got some real good skilled kids in Kimber, Gomez and
Fraticelli -- they've had very, very good years. And they have those
two receivers (Orlando Anderson and Josh Less) who are very good."

In charge of shutting down Fitchburg's powerful passing attack will be
safeties Hernandez and Alex Rivera, as well as twin cornerbacks Tony
and Mike Mastrapasqua.

"We have to do a good job of, obviously, defending the pass," said
Dubzinski. "We have to put a little more pressure on the quarterback."

The Blue Devils boast one of the most dominant linebackers in Central
Mass. in senior Mike Gentili. Alex Alcala has also made a habit of
being in the thick of things, like when he returned a fumble 42 yards
for a touchdown in a 34-7 win over North Middlesex Regional in Week 4.

"We know we have to play a full 48-minute game," said
Dubzinski. "We've been playing much, much better in the second half of
every game and we've got to start the game like that."

Offensively, the Blue Devils are led by Hernandez, who has rushed for
1,787 yards and 19 touchdowns this season.

When the year began, many in Leominster expressed concern about the
inexperience of the offensive line, which had graduated several stars
over the offseason.

After 10 games of dominant football, those fears have been put soundly
to bed.

The group of center Chris Daigneault, tight end Joe Thibaudeau, guard
Tom DeCarolis, and tackles Kyle Smith and Matt Whitney have done a
stellar job opening up holes in the line, allowing Hernandez to post
even more impressive numbers than he did a season ago.

Dubzinski gave much of the credit to offensive line coach Joe
DeCarolis, who got his players to jell into a formidable unit
surprisingly fast.

Also benefiting from the improved play of the big men up front is
fullback Dan Creed, who's rushed for 508 yards and three touchdowns
this season, while quarterback Dean Boisse has rushed for six
touchdowns of his own.

Boisse hasn't just gotten the job done on the ground, either. The
senior star has thrown for 562 yards and five touchdowns this
season. The Fitchburg defense will have to keep an eye on his favorite
targets, Creed and senior wideout Matt Booth.

Despite the loaded arsenal at Leominster's disposal, Dubzinski said
that he expects the Red Raiders to put up a fierce fight defensively.

"They've shown a lot of improvement defensively," he said. "They've
hung in there and gotten better and we expect them to play a great
game on Thursday."

It can be difficult for players to avoid getting caught up in the hype
that surrounds the storied rivalry. Once the opening whistle blows,
however, these two old-school programs will get down to the business
of settling it on the field.

"That's the great thing about a rivalry game," said Dubzinski. "Both
towns, both schools and all the kids on both teams are really excited
about the game.

"Once the game starts, you still have to do what you normally have to
do to be successful. You've got to play defense, don't make any big
mistakes and try to create some turnovers. It's an exciting game for
the kids and they get very, very fired up for the game on both sides."

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