Fitchburg brings the fight, but Brockton is too strong
By Sean Sweeney Article Launched: 10/11/2008 06:11:06 AM EDT
BROCKTON -- After two straight weeks of laying the smack down on Central Mass. opponents, the Fitchburg football team learned how the other side lives when the Red Raiders trekked to Brockton on Friday night. The four-game wining streak of the Red and Gray came to a screeching halt as the Boxers controlled play in the first half and soundly defeated the Raiders, 34-14, in the 18th meeting in as many seasons between the two schools at Rocky Marciano Stadium. The Red Raiders (4-1) were looking to make the Boxers (3-3) their latest victim after Brockton got off to a poor start to this season. But after the Boxers did away with St. John's Prep of Danvers last week, it seems as though the corner has been turned. Fitchburg head coach Ray Cosenza maintained all week that, regardless of Brockton's start, the Boxers would be one of the toughest teams FHS would face all season. "A couple of turnovers hurt us, and they capitalized on them. They have enough weapons -- forget about us giving them extra chances," Cosenza said. "I don't think we played great, but we played hard and I am proud of the kids and happy with their effort. "I can't imagine anyone else on our schedule having the speed they have and the size they have. But we still have a tough schedule ahead of us." After both teams' defenses held firm on their opening possessions, the Boxers got on the board first with a nine-play, 68-yard drive, the first of four first-half Brockton TDs. Advertisement Led by the running of Khalil James-Offley (120 yards on 15 carries, 3 TDs) and the trickery of quarterback Sam Prevetti (76 yards on 12 carries, TD pass), the Boxers were able to move the ball against the Red Raiders. On first down at the FHS 17, Prevetti kept it himself and went off the left guard for a 9-yard gain. James-Offley took the handoff on the next play and swept to the left, running into the end zone untouched to put Brockton on top. Fitchburg then turned the ball over on its next possession. The Red Raiders, courtesy a 17-yard run by Greg Mendez (team-high 123 yards on 20 carries) and a 6-yard completion between quarterback Kyle Phillips and Quentin Perkins, were moving the ball into Brockton territory. A fumble, however, as FHS was converting a key third-down play, led to the Boxers' next score. "Greg worked hard," Cosenza said. "He was playing on both sides of the ball, he had some nice runs. I thought he played well. It's tough to rush for over 100 yards against their defense." The hosts needed four plays to punch it in, as Prevetti kept it himself on first down and snuck through the line for a 9-yard gain. Three plays later, after a block below the waist penalty wiped out a hefty carry by Jamal Johnson, Prevetti pitched to Johnson as he was coming around from the right side of the line. Johnson easily turned the corner and swiftly moved down the home sideline, cutting inside around an FHS defender at the Red Raider 20 and avoiding another tackler inside the 5, capping off a 55-yard touchdown run. Klaycon Santos's kick made it a two-touchdown affair as the first quarter expired. On Fitchburg's next possession, four straight carries by Mendez led to another turnover. This time, Phillips overthrew his receiver and instead found the diving arms of Wesley Galloway for the interception. On the ensuing Brockton drive, the Boxers showed the handful of Raider fans in attendance they could move the ball at will. With the first play of the drive, Prevetti kept it himself for a gain of 22 before Fitchburg's Rashaud Fields came up with a 4-yard sack. A late hit on a James-Offley carry by the Red Raiders pushed the Boxers into Fitchburg territory before Brockton began to push the Red Raider defense toward the goal line. A second-and-1 run by fullback Ernie Jones from the FHS 13, aided by the Boxers offensive line leading the way, got down to the 4-yard line. Two plays later, James-Offley ran in from 3 yards away to make it 21-0. "We're going to have to look at the film and see what we did and what we need to improve on. We'll learn from this and we'll move on," Cosenza said. Then, after a Fitchburg punt from its own 18 netted 7 yards, Brockton needed three plays to call the game a rout. Prevetti connected with Sam Victoria from 12 yards away with a nifty pass to the back-left corner of the end zone with 3:09 left. Fitchburg was able to get on the board with 1:21 until the break, as Stephon Teague plunged in from a yard away. The key to the drive was a 93-yard kickoff return by Perkins, who was looking to score his fourth special teams TD of the season. Johnson, however, caught up with the speedy sophomore and knocked him out of bounds at the Boxer 4. Fitchburg added a TD late in the game, as Phillips found Perkins with a 51-yard scoring strike. FHS will play at Milford next Friday.
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