Disaster at Doyle
By Brendan Hall
Article Launched: 11/03/2007 10:12:43 AM EDT
LEOMINSTER -- John Andreoli just made the postseason possibilities a whole lot more interesting. 
The St. John's quarterback, arguably one of the finest in Central
Mass., made strides through the air and with his mobility in
conducting a 27-14 win over the host Leominster Blue Devils, Friday
night at Doyle Field. The Pioneers (5-4, 1-1) snapped a two-game
losing streak, while the the Devils (6-3, 1-1) endure their first such
streak of the season.

Leominster and St. John's now both have one loss in Div. 1 North,
while Fitchburg moved to 2-0 in league play with a win over
Wachusett. Should the Pioneers beat Wachusett next week, the Devils
would be able to force a three-way tie for first with a Thanksgiving
Day win over Fitchburg.

Andreoli totalled 179 all-purpose yards, threw for two scores and ran
in another one, a 30-yard scamper with two minutes to go that sealed
the win.

"We try to utilize his speed, and you know, they've got to watch Evan
Wheeler and Brendan Coyne," Pioneers coach John Andreoli said. "So, we
wanted to get John to pressure the perimeter a little bit, and give
him that run-pass option to try to put a little pressure on the
defense. So that worked well today."

The Pioneers scored twice in the second quarter, an Andreoli pass to
Stephen Peterson and an eight-yard run by coyne, to take a 14-0 lead
at the half.

Meanwhile, the Devils were held to just 37 yards of total offense in
the half. Their first two drives resulted in a 
three-and-out, and their final drive of the half ended in a Colin
O'Rourke interception. Running backs Alex Medina, Dan Creed and Alex
Rivera continuously had a hard time getting through the Pioneer front
seven, anchored by linebacker Billy Vitello and defensive tackles
Kevin Griffin and Pat O'Neill.  "We knew it was going to be a
between-the-tackles, toe-to-toe slugfest," coach Andreoli
said. "That's what we prepared for. The defensive adjustments that we
made, and the way our kids executed -- you know, with their pad level,
and the way they played the Iso and the Blast -- we were really
pleased with what the defense did today."

Andreoli then gave St. John's a 21-0 lead in the third with a 37-yard
strike to O'Rourke. Crossing over the middle with Andreoli rolling to
the right, O'Rourke hauled in the pass and shed three armtackles en
route to the end zone.

The Devils responded with a six-minute, 13-play, 65-yard drive, capped
with a one-yard sneak by Justin Kittredge (114 passing yards). Rivera
cut it to seven with a five-yard score with eight minutes to go.

After Andreoli's score, a rollout to the right, the Devils got the
ball back, only to throw an interception to Andreoli after two plays.

"Our kids came back and played a great second half, but we just dug
ourselves too big a hole," Leominster coach John Dubzinski said.

In all, the Blue Devils amassed 170 yards, but just 56 yards on the
ground. The Pioneers, meanwhile, got 211 rushing yards combined from
Andreoli, Coyne (59 yards), Wheeler (48) and O'Rourke.

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