Devils step it up late
By Eric Avidon

FITCHBURG -- Many great efforts went into Leominster's 19-14
win over Fitchburg at Crocker Field Thanksgiving morning,
efforts on both sides of the ball.

There was Fitchburg running back Daeshaun Perkins running 22
times for 106 yards and the defensive line of the Red
Raiders making Leominster work for every single one of the
245 yards it gained on the day. There was Leominster running
back Adam Cordio gaining 128 yards on 24 carries and the
poised play of sophomore quarterback Dean Boisse, who was
3-for-3 in the second half for 67 yards and a touchdown.

Ultimately, however, the 121st meeting between Fitchburg and
Leominster was decided in the final minutes of the third
quarter and early in the fourth, the first one a defensive
stand and then on a long drive.

Late in the third quarter, with Fitchburg holding a 14-13
lead, the Red Raiders put together a drive that seemed
destined to be the clincher in yet another Fitchburg win on
Thanksgiving. The Red Raiders had moved from their own
20-yard line to the Leominster four in nine plays, picking
up five first downs along the way. But then the Blue Devil
defense stood tall, stopping Fitchburg on four successive
plays to turn the momentum in their favor.

"We had a chance down there and we didn't get it done," said
Fitchburg coach Ray Cosenza. "What are you going to? They're
high school kids and they gave us everything they had, and
I'm very proud of our kids and our staff. We didn't pack it
in when things weren't going well and we definitely didn't
pack it in today."

He added, "The key was when we didn't score down there (at
the goal line). The momentum changed right there. Our
defense had to make too many stops."

On first-and-goal from the five Fitchburg gave the ball to
Justin McDonald up the middle, but he was stopped at the
three after gaining just one yard. Fitchburg then tried
Perkins on both second and third downs. He was stopped after
a one-yard gain on second down and for no gain on third.

That left the Red Raiders with fourth-and-goal from the
three.

After a timeout, Fitchburg called a pass play. Quarterback
Brian Ricciuti tried to find tight end Matt Thibeault toward
the back of the end zone but Leominster defensive back
Jonathan Hernandez got a hand on the ball and batted it
away.

Fitchburg still had a chance, however. Perkins, who was
standing in the in end zone, had a shot at catching the
deflection, but the ball slipped through his hands and
Leominster had the goal-line stand.

"That goal-line stand down there was the pivotal play of the
game," said Leominster coach John Dubzinski. "We haven't had
a lot of luck in this game and when the (pass) was deflected
and went right to the kid I thought, 'You gotta be kidding
me.' But we had a good stop (on the next possession) after
that and then Cordio made a great run.

"We finally played a little defense at the end."

After the teams exchanged punts Leominster went on the drive
that ultimately won the game for the Blue Devils. Still
trailing by a point, they took over on their own 22-yard
line with 10:34 remaining in the fourth quarter, marched 78
yards in 11 plays and wrestled the lead from Fitchburg for
good.

Cordio ran six times on the decisive drive for 44 yards,
including 18 yards to punch the ball into the end zone. On
the touchdown, Cordio ran wide to his right, and just after
he turned upfield broke quickly to his left to fake out a
Fitchburg defender. From there it was an easy stroll past
the goal line.

Fellow running back Anthony Bizzotto, meanwhile caught one
pass for 18 yards on the drive and ran three times for 15.

"We knew we could get them," said Cordio. "We told the line,
and the line knew we could get them. We knew we could run
all over them. We knew they weren't stopping us. We're the
Dynamic Duo. ...That was an amazing drive. We just had to
keep pushing and pushing and the get the first downs."

Regarding the touchdown run, he said, "I got the toss, just
saw the hole and went for it. There was one guy in my way
but I got him out of the way and got in the end zone. We had
to win this thing. I wasn't letting anyone down."

Meanwhile, Boisse, who didn't play until Leominster's loss
to St. John's in the ninth game of season when junior Derek
Craig injured his ankle, was 2-for-2 on the decisive drive,
hitting Bizzotto for an 18-yard gain and Steven Shaw or six
yards.

"The kid did a good job," said Dubzinski. "He made some
completions. He's going to be a good player. I'm glad for
him."

"He stepped in the last two games and did awesome, amazing,"
said Cordio. "He came up as a sophomore and did (the job)."

Cordio's touchdown came with 4:10 remaining in the game,
which meant Fitchburg still had a chance to come back. But
the Blue Devil defense held its ground, and after the Red
Raiders failed to convert a fourth-and-12 from their own
33-yard line with 1:43 remaining in the fourth quarter, it
was just a matter of holding onto the ball and running out
the clock.
 

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