Homecoming celebration
By Eric Avidon 
eavidon@sentinelandenterprise.com

FITCHBURG -- Friday night was about redemption for the
Fitchburg High football team.

The Red Raiders were blown out at Gardner last week and
struggled to a 3-5 record through the first eight games of
the season. But in front of a big crowd on Homecoming night,
Fitchburg showed its capabilities, blowing out Division 1
rival St. Peter-Marian 41-7 at Crocker Field.

Fitchburg rolled up 413 total yards, 401 of them on the
ground. Among the Red Raider scoring drives were marches of
64, 75, 80 and 92 yards.

Meanwhile, Fitchburg, which never turned the ball over, held
St. Peter-Marian to 149 total yards, picked off two passes
and recovered two fumbles.

"I'm so happy for our kids because it's been a tough go,"
said Fitchburg coach Ray Cosenza. "They've stuck
together. We started the season with 52 players and we came
in tonight with 52 players. Kids who are hurt come every day
no matter what.

"I'm so proud of them. I'm happy for them, too, because they
deserve to have some success like this."

It was also a night of redemption for tailback Daeshaun
Perkins. The senior spent much of the season as backup to
Justin McDonald, and on a number of chances he had to carry
the ball he fumbled. But Friday night Perkins was given the
start and made the most of the opportunity.

The first time he touched the ball -- Fitchburg's second
play from scrimmage -- Perkins broke through a tackle at the
line and sprinted 40 yards for the first touchdown of the
game. He later scored on runs of four and six yards, and on
the night ran 26 times for 185 yards and three touchdowns.

For good measure, Perkins picked off a pass on defense.

"It feels incredible," Perkins said of the Homecoming
win. "I feel great. The last couple of games every time I
touched the ball I fumbled, so I had to work on my hands all
week and just a lot of mental toughness, but right now I'm
just happy."

Perkins wasn't alone, however, in carrying the offensive
load for Fitchburg (4-5). Senior fullback Eldred Wright ran
the ball 14 times for 162 yards and one touchdown. And like
Perkins' first touchdown run, Wright was stopped cold at the
line of scrimmage but broke through and raced 61 yards for
the score.

"It was just hard running," said Wright, adding that "the
line did an excellent job and we just followed their
blocks."

"First of all it was the line," echoed Perkins. "They had
incredible blocking, and I just didn't want to go down. Me
and Eldred, we were just talking about it all week that we
had a big loss and this week we needed to get after it. It
took a lot of heart (to bounce back from the loss) and the
team got closer; it just took love for each other."

Fitchburg went up 8-0 on Perkins' 40-yard dash with just
over 8:00 left in the first quarter, and was up 14-0 with
9:43 left in the half after Perkins capped a 57-yard drive
with a four-yard touchdown run.

St. Peter-Marian (3-6) cut the lead to 14-7 with a
four-play, 64-yard drive ending in a 15-yard scoring pass
from Joe Paciello to Ryan Cortez, but it was the only time
all night the Guardians put any pressure on the Fitchburg
defense.

The Red Raiders responded with two more touchdowns before
halftime -- one on a six-yard run by Perkins and the other
on a nine-yard run by quarterback Brian Ricciuti to take a
28-7 lead into intermission.

Wright's 61-yard sprint came less than 90 seconds into the
second half and gave Fitchburg a 34-7 lead, and a touchdown
by sophomore Jesus Ramos with 10:56 left in the game ended
the scoring.

"I was very happy with the job that both backs did, and
there was some good yardage after contact," said Cosenza,
"but I think our offensive line really came through. That
was good to see. We've taken our lumps, and I realize
they're missing some guys, but we really needed something
positive to happen and this was great."

He added, "This was our best game by far."

Fitchburg hosts St. John's next Friday night.

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