Fitchburg loses, but future bright
Monday, December 8, 2008 By Steve Farley CORRESPONDENT
WORCESTER: Its season may have ended with a loss, but the Fitchburg High football team may have found a star quarterback. Taking the reins from three-year starting quarterback Jeremy Kimber to start the season, Kyle Phillips was raw talent, an unproven sophomore with plenty of potential. Sure, yesterday's 35-21 loss to Longmeadow in the Central/Western Mass. Division 1 Super Bowl will sting for awhile, but Phillips and the Red Raiders will soon begin preparing for next year. And Phillips' standout performance against the Lancers' 7 of 19, 134 yards, 2 touchdowns' should leave Fitchburg fans looking forward to 2009. "To tell you the truth, I was kind of nervous, but I got used to the game," said Phillips, the victim of several dropped passes, two that would likely have gone for touchdowns on the Worcester State turf. "The receivers they made some mistakes, but we're not going to hate them for that," Phillips said. "We had some penalties, but other than that, we played an OK game." Longmeadow (12-1) was fueled by running backs Alex Scyocurka and Niko Sierra, who combined for 364 yards and five touchdowns. The Lancers had 428 yards of offense. Longmeadow, which had its 47-game win streak ended by East Longmeadow on Thanksgiving, was making its 12th straight Super Bowl appearance. The Lancers have won nine of those games. Fitchburg (8-5), which had its four-game win streak stopped, knew all about Scyocurka and Sierra, but just didn't have enough bodies to stop the dynamic duo. "It wasn't that our defense wasn't ready or wasn't prepared or anything," Phillips said. "We both fought hard and we both played a heck of a game. Somebody had to lose." Scyocurka rushed for a game-high 222 yards and 2 touchdowns on 30 carries, and also threw a 29-yard pass and returned a kickoff for 40 yards. Sierra rushed for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns on 17 carries. "We had people in the right spot at times, but they just made great plays and that's a credit to them,” said Red Raiders coach Ray Cosenza, 3-7 in Super Bowls. "The bottom line is we were 4-4 and people counted us out. I've got to give my kids credit. It's always tough to lose your last game. Today, it stings." Red Raiders senior back Greg Mendez capped a stellar career with 180 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. He broke a tackle a few yards behind the line of scrimmage and scored a 46-yard touchdown on his final run with 38 seconds left in regulation. Isiah Ford's run on the conversion accounted for the final score. Longmeadow scored the only touchdown of the first quarter on a 15-yard run by Sierra, who barreled through the line with ease. Ben Sterritt’s first of three extra points made it 7-0 with 5:01 left in the first quarter. After Scyocurka scored on an 18-yard sweep on the first play of the second quarter, the Red Raiders got on the board on a 48-yard TD pass from Phillips to Quinton Perkins with 7:55 to go before halftime. Luke Arno’s PAT sliced Fitchburg’s deficit to 14-7. A fumble gave Fitchburg an opportunity to score before the half, and that’s exactly what the Red Raiders did on a 6-yard pass from Phillips to Jack Hachey with 23 seconds to go. The extra point was blocked keeping it 14-13. Longmeadow opened the second half by driving 63 yards in nine plays and scoring on a 7-yard run by Sierra with 6:42 to go in the quarter. Fitchburg nearly responded 32 seconds later, but Phillips was intercepted by Conor Hobert in the end zone. The Lancers turned the ball over deep in Red Raiders territory on the ensuing drive, but Fitchburg couldn’t capitalize, giving the ball up on downs. Longmeadow added two fourth-quarter touchdowns to seal it. Longmeadow 35, Fitchburg 21 FITCHBURG (8-5) 0 13 0 8/21 LONGMEADOW (12-1) 7 7 7 14/35 Longmeadow - Niko Sierra 15 run (Ben Sterritt kick) Longmeadow - Alex Scyocurka 18 run (Sterritt kick) Fitchburg - Quinton Perkins 48 pass from Kyle Phillips (Luke Arno kick) Fitchburg - Jake Hachey 6 pass from Phillips (kick blocked) Longmeadow - Sierra 7 run (Sterritt kick) Longmeadow - Sierra 11 run (kick failed) Longmeadow - Scyocurka 6 run (Scyocurka rush) Fitchburg - Greg Mendez 46 run (Isiah Ford run)
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