Comeback Falters
By Mike LeClair
Article Launched:10/21/2006 11:07:53 AM EDT

FITCHBURG -- The Fitchburg football team waited a little too
long to make its move, Friday night.

After spotting visiting St. John's of Shrewsbury a 19-point
halftime lead, the Red Raiders picked up their level of play
and tried to make a game of it in the second half. However,
the comeback bid fell short as the Pioneers walked out of
Crocker Field with a 19-6 win in a battle of Central
Mass. Division 1 rivals.

"In the first half, we really struggled after Derek Paine
went out, but even our offense couldn't get anything going,"
said Fitchburg head coach Ray Cosenza. "We played better in
the second half, but we can't wait until the second
half. They did a great job."

A scary moment early on for Fitchburg fans came with 3:42
left in the opening quarter.

The game was temporarily delayed when senior outside
linebacker Paine went down with what appeared to be a neck
injury and was carted off the field on a stretcher and later
taken away in an ambulance.

The contest remained scoreless through the end of the first
quarter, but in the second, St. John's (5-2) chalked up all
the points it would need.  The Pioneers drew first blood
with 7:36 on the clock when Coleman Pope capped an 18-play
drive with a 10-yard scamper that found the end zone. The
run highlighted a drive that began back at Pioneers' own
19-yard line.

St. John's would strike again on its next possession when
quarterback John Andreoli hooked up with receiver John
Perron from nine yards out with 4:49 left. Andreoli's
conversion pass failed, keeping it a 12-point game.

The Pioneers' defense held Fitchburg (2-5) to a
three-and-out on its next possession and got the ball back
with just over three minutes to play, setting up shop at the
Fitchburg 48-yard line.

The Pioneers needed just six plays. The final was a 1-yard
quarterback sneak by Andreoli with 59 seconds left to make
it 19-0 heading into the halftime break.

"Nineteen points is a long way to climb back from," said
Cosenza. "Our offense didn't have a first down in the first
half, but they did some good things in the second half."

In the second half, Fitchburg showed signs of life, picking
up its first first down of the game on the second play from
scrimmage when quarterback Jeremy Kimber found Fraticelli
with a 16-yard pass at midfield.

A pass interference call on the ensuing play moved the ball
to the Pioneers' 35, and a pair of Fraticelli runs pushed
the ball to the 24. However, an interception by Perron at
the 10-yard line cut the Fitchburg drive short.

The Red Raiders would once again drive the ball deep into
St. John's territory, driving from its own 8-yard line all
the way to the Pioneers' 12. The drive was aided by a pair
of St. John's penalties and a some solid running from Jon
Gomez and Greg Mendez, but that was as far as Fitchburg
would get as a sack and a pair of incomplete passes ended
the drive.

Fitchburg would finally jump on the board in the fourth
quarter.

Following a fumble recovery by Richard Alverez at the
St. John's 20, the Red Raiders used just four plays to find
the end zone. On third-and-goal from the 6, Kimber called
his own number and rumbled his way across the goal line with
5:38 left to make it 19-6.

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