Red dawn
Fitchburg, Gomez run wild in opener
By Jim Wilson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
jimwilson@telegram.com

FITCHBURG: After consecutive four-win seasons, Fitchburg High
quarterback Jeremy Kimber said it was important for the No. 2 Red
Raiders to make a statement in last night’s opener against Gardner if
they wanted to be taken as a serious threat this year.

Thanks to senior running back Johnny Gomez, that wasn’t a problem.

Gomez gained 207 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns as
the Red Raiders rolled to a 35-0 win over the Wildcats at Crocker
Field in the 104th meeting of the longtime rivals.


"We needed this," Gomez said. "Our team wanted it, and our
coaches helped us a lot."

Gomez broke numerous tackles, slashed and cut back his way for
touchdown runs of 19, 21 and 18 yards. With just under nine minutes
left, Gomez gained 11 yards up the middle on one carry, then rushed
through the right side for a 16-yard carry to put him over 200 yards.

"He was awesome, and he made us look better than I think we were at
times," Fitchburg coach Ray Cosenza said.

"He made some runs where there wasn’t a lot there for him, but
that’s what we expect from him.

After a scoreless first quarter, Kimber was sacked by Gardner
co-captain Matt Jones for a 5-yard loss. Facing third-and-11 at the
Wildcats’ 36-yard line, Kimber was chased from the pocket by Jordan
Smith, but the agile southpaw rolled to his left and threw across his
body over a crowd of defenders to find Josh Less in the middle for a
17-yard gain.

That set up Gomez, who rushed to the right side, made a quick cut that
made a defensive back miss, and found the end zone from 19 yards
out. Luke Arno’s first of five extra points made it 7-0.

On their next possession, the Wildcats drove to the Fitchburg 34, but
Larry Ard’s halfback option pass on fourth down was intercepted by
Eric Dion to give Fitchburg the ball on its own 28. The Red Raiders
(1-0) scored nine plays later when Kimber executed a play-action pass
to his left and hit fullback Matt Fraticelli from 10 yards out.

Gomez scored on Fitchburg’s first two possessions of the second half
and senior Chris Cormier added a 9-yard TD jaunt in the fourth quarter
to cap the scoring.

“I came out kind of shaky at the beginning,” Kimber said. “My
running game was amazing. Johnny was amazing, he carried us. The
defense got a shutout, what more can we ask for?”

Kimber missed on his first three throws but recovered to complete
seven of his next eight passes for 102 yards. Fraticelli caught four
passes for 55 yards.

"They started closing on the run, but then they had to close on the
pass, so we went back to our bread and butter," Gomez said.

"I could tell because he had such a good offseason, he worked hard,
and he was ready and had an amazing game," Kimber
said. "Hopefully, he can do it all year."

Ard led the Wildcats (0-1) with 94 yards on 16 carries.

Gardner drove to the Fitchburg 18-yard line in the fourth quarter, but
Tyler Craft was intercepted by Zach Schweda to end the game and start
the celebration for the Red Raiders.

"I’m thrilled for our kids because it’s been a while since we’ve
been 1-0," Cosenza said. "We had to make some adjustments,
because (Gardner) kept coming in the middle, and they stunted a lot
and shut down some things we thought we could get. In the second half,
we were able to capitalize on that, and I think we wore them down a
lot, too. They played hard, and I give them a lot of credit." 

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