It's no secret Fitchburg will hand ball to Earley
By Chad Garner
Fitchburg coach Ray Cosenza knows it's going to take an
A-plus effort from his offense, defense and special teams to
upset archrival Leominster on Thanksgiving Day.

Not that Fitchburg needs more incentive on Turkey Day, but
it will walk onto foreign soil at Doyle Field fresh off a
loss to St. John's of Shrewsbury, and the of Thursday game
winner advances to the Super Bowl. Fitchburg can extend its
winning streak over Leominster to six years in a row and 12
of the last 13.

But none of that really matters. 

"I don't think that has any effect on this game," said
Cosenza who has guided the Red Raiders to 11 wins on
Thanksgiving in 14 seasons since taking over the helm in
1989. "We're not going to talk about it, we're just going to
get ready for this game. There have been some great games
and hopefully this one will be the same."

As for the Fitchburg offense, there's no secret who makes it
go. Junior tailback William Earley has had a monster season
and leads all of Central Mass. in rushing (2,033) and
scoring (182 points, 30 TDs, 28 rushing). Last year on
Thanksgiving, Earley was a one-man wrecking crew in the
second half with the game tied at 7. Earley rushed for 158
of his game-high 226 yards and scored two of his three
touchdowns in the 28-20 upset win.

But in order for the Red Raiders to be successful, they must
get solid support from their other two offensive weapons
— sophomore quarterback Raymond Earley and junior
fullback Eldred Wright.

"I think that Raymond Earley has developed into a legitimate
threat at quarterback and has done some real good things,
and our fullback Eldred Wright has been an excellent
fullback," said Cosenza. "I think we're going to be
balanced, all three people will contribute and that's what
we're going to need to do."

Also lost in all the scoring is the Red Raider offensive
line that open holes for the backs to run through.

Center Anthony Murray anchors the line. Joe Golden and Brad
McNamara start at the guard positions, while Austin Douglas
and Logan Johnson are the tackles. Gamba Payton and Matt
Thibeault split time at the tight end position.

"I think the key is going to be our offensive line," said
Cosenza. "Last year our offensive line won the battle up
front."

Brian Ricciuti starts at one wideout spot, while Drew Durkee
or Josh Mathieu are battling for the other slot.

Cosenza also knows his team must be prepared for
Leominster's attacking and ultra-quick defense.

"I think they really get to the ball well, they're physical
... they're a very good defense," he said. "I don't see too
many areas there where they have holes. We're going to have
to play our best game offensively."

The biggest question will be how Fitchburg's defense deals
with Leominster's high-octane offense of running backs Tom
Fallon, Adam Cordio and Anthony Bizzotto. Add quarterback
Chris Swart and tight end Tim DiLillo to the passing mix.

"I think we'll have a sound defense," said Cosenza. "I think
last year they were in a very similar position. You look at
who they had — (Kevin) Barnaby, (Blake) Curry, Bizzotto,
and (Kevin) L'Ecuyer. We had a lot to contend with so we've
got to be sound and account for all of them. You face some
teams where you don't have to do that, but with Leominster
you do."

Fitchburg was successful last season by eliminating
Leominster's most explosive weapon, L'Ecuyer, who came into
the game with 1,441 yards rushing and 21
touchdowns. L'Ecuyer was held to only 30 yards on 20 carries
last Thanksgiving.

While shutting down L'Ecuyer worked last season, Fitchburg
may not be able to key on one guy this season.

"Some situations that's the case, but with them you can't,"
said Cosenza. "Bizzotto is also dangerous and Fallon can go
the distance. You can't just say we're going to stop one of
them and hope that someone else doesn't hurt us."

Despite early-season struggles, Fitchburg's defense has
shown drastic improvement over the course of the season,
allowing 45 points in its final four games.

"There's no doubt that our biggest improvement all year has
been our defense," said Cosenza. "We struggled stopping
people earlier in the year, but our last three or four games
our defense has played very well. We're going to need our
defense to keep us in there, and then hopefully let our
offense keep their offense off the field."

Fitchburg's base-50 defense is solid up front with nose
guard Kyle Scachetti, tackles John Fanelli and Murray, and
ends Douglas and Matt Lamey. Payton and Thibeault start at
linebacker, while the secondary is comprised of W. Earley,
Daeshawn Perkins, T.J. Loughlin, Sean Thomas or David Garay.

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