Plenty to be proud of for FHS
By Shauna Staveley Posted: 12/09/2008 06:06:23 AM EST
The Fitchburg High football team showed everyone it belonged in the Central/Western Mass. Division 1 Super Bowl on Sunday. Actually, the 8-5 Red Raiders were a bigger, faster team overall than Longmeadow, despite a 35-21 loss at John F. Coughlin Field of Worcester State College. According to the rosters of both teams, Fitchburg had 12 players weighing between 230 and 290 pounds, while only four Longmeadow players were even close to that stature. Furthermore, Fitchburg wide receivers, such as senior Orlando Anderson and sophomore Quinton Perkins, torched the Lancer secondary on passing routes ranging from simple slant patterns to streaks. Longmeadow had to double team both Anderson and Perkins to maintain some semblance of pass coverage. Senior Red Raider running back Greg Mendez also gained yardage simply by running at a speed no Lancer defender could match. Here are some other observations not mentioned in Monday's stories as to what tipped the scales in Longmeadow's favor, what kept Fitchburg on pace with the 12-straight Super Bowl appearing Lancers, and why the future looks bright for the Red Raiders. * Fitchburg punted on its first two possessions, unable to move the ball past midfield. The first possession was a three-and-out, the second only two sets of downs. Longmeadow came out in a five-man front, clearly trying to shut down the run-heavy Red Raider offense. * Mendez (22 carries, 180 yards, 1 touchdown) didn't get a carry until 4:55 remained in the first quarter. His first run was a scrappy 7-yard gain, where he stumbled, spun and juked his way out of a loss of yardage in the backfield. * The Lancers scored on both of its first two possessions -- the first a seven-play, 72-yard drive that only took up a couple minutes of first quarter clock, and the second a six-play, 79-yard drive that took less than three minutes. * Senior Lancer running back Alex Scyocurka (27 carries, 226 yards, 2 touchdowns) dominated both drives, benefiting from excellent blocking, but also using great field vision. One of his most impressive runs was at the Longmeadow 21-yard line, the first play of the second possession with 2:09 left in the first quarter. He broke a couple tackles to get to the second level, made a quick direction change from left to middle, then cut back to the right before a Red Raider finally dragged him down for a 33-yard gain. * Scyocurka had more than 75 yards in the first quarter alone, and 136 in the first half. * The Fitchburg offensive line gave sophomore quarterback Kyle Phillips (7-of-19, 139 yard) outstanding protection and opened up some huge holes for Mendez throughout the game. Tackle Keith Bourne, Boston College bound next year, sprung Mendez on a second-and-10 play from the Fitchburg 32-yard line with 9:13 remaining in the second quarter. He came around the left side and laid out a Lancer defender chasing down Mendez, which gave Mendez enough space to sprint for an 18-yard-gain. That play gave the Red Raiders its confidence back. Phillips stepped back and fired a 48-yard bomb to Perkins two plays later to make it 14-6. * The Fitchburg defense made a huge stop on the ensuing Longmeadow possession. An illegal procedure call on the Red Raider kickoff placed the ball at the Lancer 44-yard-line to start the drive. Despite senior power running back Niko Sierra scampering for a 21-yard gain on a second-and-7 play from the 47, the Red Raiders hung tough and stuffed Sierra twice on dive plays. Anderson, playing tight coverage at corner, made a great diving breakup of a Lancer pass to force a fourth-and-3. Junior Lancer quarterback Conor Hobert was forced to pass, and overthrew senior Evan Dowd in the end zone for a turnover on downs, with 5:39 remaining, five yards outside the red zone. * Fitchburg once again held up when Longmeadow was driving in the first half. A fumble recovery by senior defensive lineman Ryan Robar on the Red Raider 44-yard-line with 1:38 remaining gave Fitchburg offense just enough time to march down the field on seven plays and score. Dowd, playing defensive back, made a touchdown-saving tackle on Mendez at the 50 with 1:27 remaining, despite Mendez gaining 17-yards before the takedown. The Fitchburg coaching staff made a fantastic fourth-and-3 call with 29 seconds remaining in the half on the drive. Rather than attempting a 23-yard field goal, Phillips lobbed it up to senior tight end Jake Hachey, wide open in the back of the end zone to make it 14-13. Longmeadow, who keyed on Mendez on the goal line for the previous downs, had no idea that play was coming. * Longmeadow got back on track on its first possession of the second half, scoring on a nine play, 62 yard drive that lasted 3:17 minutes. Sierra made a couple unbelievable plays, leaping over senior defensive back Joel Gomez for a 3-yard gain at the 41 and escaping the grasp of Robar in the backfield and running for a 7-yard touchdown. Both plays were third down conversions. * Scyocurka showed his athletic ability transcends what he can do with his feet on a perfect halfback pass to senior receiver Kyle Smith for 24 yards, on second-and-eleven at the Longmeadow 19-yard-line, with 9:32 left in the fourth quarter. Fitchburg got a steady dose of Sierra after that, on runs up the middle until he eventually scored on an 11-yard carry with 6:14 left in the fourth quarter. * Junior Fitchburg punter Tim McNamara showed off his leg on Sunday, booting long and high punts that forced Lancer fair catches, or bounced deep into Longmeadow territory. * Phillips and Perkins, only sophomores, could be quite the tandem in red and gray over the next couple of years. Perkins showed all season long he has solid speed and great hands, and Phillips proved on Sunday he has the arm strength and accuracy to get him the ball downfield.
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