Colors of tradition
Blue Devils, Red Raiders stage 122nd grid meeting


By Fred Sullivan CORRESPONDENT

Thanksgiving morning at approximately 8 a.m., Tony Calabro,
Greg Charpentier, John Penning and Jon Rodriguez will step
onto the bus to take a short five-mile ride to Crocker
Field, where they will face archrival Fitchburg High School
in the 122nd edition of the Turkey Day Classic.

These Blue Devil seniors and their teammates had expected to
play their final football contest for Leominster High at
their beloved Doyle Field. That was before the Big Dig
began. Following an autumn of uncertainty and flying
petitions, it was decided by leaders of Leominster’s
schools to move the contest to FHS’ ancient site as
athletic director, Chris Young announced way back in May.

Leominster will be competing for a position in the
postseason Super Bowl, while the young Raiders of FHS will
be playing for pride. Players from both squads will walk
onto Crocker Field hoping to perform to the level of kids
like Adam Cordio, Austin Douglas, Anthony Bizzotto, Anthony
Murray, Peter Gounaridis and Deshawn Perkins in the 2004
game.

Last year, FHS’ Perkins played the game of his life as he
tried to lead his teammates to an improbable upset, only to
come up short. But Deshawn’s efforts will be remembered
for a long time by the Red and Gray faithful. Thus has it
always been in the Thanksgiving rivalry, when the unexpected
star steps forward.

In 1933, Fitchburg and Leominster may have played the most
storied of all Thanksgiving games. Coach Charlie Broderick
of the Blue Devils, led by the legendary Ronnie Cahill,
entered that contest with only one blemish upon their
record, a tie against the Wildcats of Gardner High. In fact,
the Blue Devils had not been defeated in two seasons. But
Clarence Amiott’s Red Raiders were probably slight
favorites as the two squads came to Doyle Field on that
morning so many seasons ago.

Led by Bill Mackie, a triple-threat tailback, the “Red
Rioters” had been invincible throughout the
campaign. Mackie versus Cahill would highlight this
contest. But there would be a surprise star in that contest.

When “Red” Brodeur went down with an injury, Coach
Amiott inserted a 15-year-old sophomore halfback named Lauri
Shattuck, who would blaze to glory in that famous
contest. Never missing a beat, the young scatback raced
behind tremendous blocks thrown by “Dub” Molaghan and
scored two touchdowns to trigger the Raiders’ 20-12
victory. The Boston press hailed the FHS squad as the state
champions, led by their surprising halfback, Shattuck.

During the 1940s, C.B.’s squads would be led by
outstanding running backs like “Skippy” Salvatore and
Bob Mercier, who would bring victory to the Blue Devils
during this era. In 1947 the Blue and White would lose a
difficult contest to the Red and Gray, 13-0, when the
“Bucker” Shea-led defense dominated the contest. While
his more heralded teammates were held in tow, a diminutive
halfback had several excellent carries for the Blue and
White. His name was Leon “Huck” Hannigan. Barely
weighing 130 pounds, “Huck” was able to spark the
Devils, albeit in a losing effort. Sometimes, Thanksgiving
Day brings out the best from the most unlikely players.

In 1957, Fitchburg High was considered a three-touchdown
underdog against a Leominster eleven which highlighted the
play of Dick Robichaud, one of the Devils’ all-time
best. FHS had not beaten Leominster in five seasons, and
they were not expected to reverse the trend in 1957. Ken
Rostedt had been a member of the FHS varsity football squad
for four seasons, and had a solid high school career. But on
Thanksgiving morning, the Raider tailback would have a game
for the ages. Coach Ed Sullivan had decided that the Red and
Gray were going to challenge LHS’ defense with a
relentless ground game.

Big Pete Stephens would hit the middle of that defense with
bull-like charges, and then Rostedt would slash to the
outside. “Sully’s” plan worked to perfection as the
Raiders gained more than 400 yards on the ground. Rostedt,
the 150-pound tailback, rushed for an astounding 285 yards
as the Raiders upset LHS, 20-14.

Greg Piccuci was a fabulous baseball player for the Blue
Devils in the late 1960s. His shortstop skills are still
unmatched in this writer’s mind. But Thanksgiving 1968
brought Greg Piccuci to Crocker Field, where he
quarterbacked the Blue Devils to a near-upset of a highly
favored Red and Gray squad. FHS, with players like Tom
DiGeronimo, Leo LaRoche, Richie Boudreau and Allen Glenny,
was expected to cruise to an easy victory, but had
overlooked the dynamic Piccuci, who pushed his squad toward
excellence. Then with less than a minute remaining, Greg
lined up for a winning field goal. Luckily for the Red and
Gray, Randy Palmer’s long arm blocked that attempt, but
Piccuci’s efforts on Turkey Day 1968 have not been
forgotten.

Thursday at Crocker Field, the two ancient rivals will face
each other once again, and players will have an opportunity
to become part of this lore. It could come from expected
stars like Jon Hernandez of the Blue Devils or Jeremy Kimber
of the Raiders, or it could also come from an unknown. You
just never know on Thanksgiving morning.

Coach Ray Cosenza and his staff have to be asking
themselves, “Which Red and Gray team is going to play on
Thanksgiving morning?” The Red and Gray are very young in
2005, and like the little girl with the curl, when they have
been good, they have been very good, but when they have been
bad, they have been bad. Will it be the Red Raiders against
Brockton or FHS against North Middlesex? Nobody seems to
know. At times the Raider offense has been dynamic, and at
other times it has been prone to mistakes. Coach Cosenza
hopes the kids will bring their “A” game to Crocker
Field on Thursday morning.

Jeremy Kimber can be a major weapon for the Red and Gray
from his quarterback slot. If the lefthanded-throwing
sophomore can hit David Cosenza, Josh Less and Josh Mathieu
with a degree of consistency against LHS, then the Raiders
could be potent. Kimber to Cosenza could be the key for a
Raider victory. David has been very effective gathering in
Jeremy’s tosses for excellent yardage. And against
Marlboro, Cosenza was able to break two passes for 50-yard
touchdowns. If Kimber is on target, then Jon Gomez and Matt
Fraticelli will be able to pick up good yardage on the
ground. These two sophomores have had their moments this
season. Fraticelli gained nearly 100 yards against Brockton,
and Gomez had excellent games against Wachusett Regional and
Marlboro.

If the Raiders’ skill players are to succeed on Turkey
Day, their offensive line, Derek Paine, Logan Johnson, Shane
Boucher, Jesus Pizarro, Ryan Mylott, Nate Wilson, Mike
Grenier and Tim Douglas, will have to come up large. FHS’
young backs are not very big, but they have excellent skills
which can exploit enemy defenses. They do need excellence
from the guys down in the trenches. If they get it, then the
Raider offense could be tough.

When the Blue Devils have the ball, Coach Cosenza will be
counting on strong efforts from Waheed Disu, Anthony Caputi,
Ryan Robar, Jon Berthiaume, Derek Paine, David Garay, Mike
Johnson, Josh Mathieu, Dan Minichiello, Malcolm Wilbur and
Mike Costa to slow down Leominster’s explosive
offense. This will not be an easy task for the
Raiders. Hernandez must be contained, or FHS could be
subject to a long Thanksgiving morning. Another key for the
Red and Gray could very well be Ken Phaxay and Matt
Fraticelli, who will handle the kicking duties. They must
try to keep the ball out of the hands of Jon Hernandez, who
is dangerous from any place on the gridiron.

Coach John Dubzinski will bring his Blue Devils into Crocker
Field with a solid 6-3 record and an excellent shot at the
Super Bowl. The Blue and White have an explosive offense
which features Hernandez, one of Central Massachusetts’
better running backs. Jon has scored 17 touchdowns and
gained 1,250 yards in the Blue Devils’ first nine
contests. He certainly has capably filled the shoes of Adam
Cordio and Anthony Bizzotto from 2004. The junior tailback
can score from the line of scrimmage, returning punts or
kickoffs or as a defensive back. He will probably be the key
player in this year’s Turkey Day Classic. But the Blue
Devil offense is not a one-man band. Quarterback Dean Boisse
is an excellent medium range passer whose favorite target is
flanker Jon Rodriguez, who is an offensive weapon. The
Raiders will have to be very aware of Rodriguez over the
middle. He can go long distances when he catches short
passes from Boisse. Keeping enemy defenses honest is
fullback, Mike Gentili, who is very strong inside the
tackles with his short bursts.

The senior-dominated Blue Devil offensive line has
consistently gotten the job done for their ace,
Hernandez. John Penning, Nick Swart, Greg Charpentier and
Tony Calabro have provided senior leadership throughout the
season. They have been aided by newcomers Tim Schofield,
Matt Whitney and Matt Booth, which has given LHS a solid
offense throughout the campaign. Coach Dubzinski feels that
Penning and Charpentier have had all-star seasons on the
O-line.

Many of the Blue Devils play on both sides of the ball. Tony
Calabro has been the key to the Devils’ defense
throughout most of the campaign. Calabro has been aided and
abetted along the defensive front by Penning and
Charpentier, and huge sophomore defensive tackle Mark
Ponusky. Coach Dubzinski felt his linebackers Derek Craig
and Mike Gentili have been very solid during the
season. Hernandez, who stars on offense, has been an
excellent defender in the backfield, along with teammates
Ross Cordio, Ryan LaPrade and Zack Gauvin. Gauvin, with five
interceptions, has become a real ball hawk as the season has
progressed. With the passing threat of Kimber, the defensive
backfield will be challenged tomorrow morning.

The Blue Devils will be a solid favorite on Turkey Day, but
this contest could be very close. As is always true, breaks
will play a big part in the contest. Usually the squad which
desires victory the greatest will be victorious. Who will be
remembered in the future? Kids named Cosenza, Hernandez,
Boisse, Kimber, Garay, Gomez, Calabro or LaPrade could be
the new heroes of this Turkey Day Classic.

In 2005, many people stay close by their television sets to
watch the contest on local access television. But this year,
there will be a tape delay. Why not get into your car and
join the hardy at Crocker Field for the 122nd renewal?

I believe that this is the great American Classic: Fitchburg
vs. Leominster. Good luck, Blue Devils and Red
Raiders. Bring glory to yourselves and your schools.

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