A tale of two first-year QBs
By Eric Avidon

When the season began back in mid-September, both the
Fitchburg High and Leominster High football teams had no
idea what kind of production they would get out of the
quarterback position.

Each knew it had strength at running back and that the
running game would be the main focus of the offense, but
with first-year starters at quarterback, the most important
single position on the football field was a mystery.

And while the performance of the respective running games
will most likely determine the winner on Thanksgiving Day,
two first-year quarterbacks -- Raymond Earley of Fitchburg
and Chris Swart of Leominster -- completing their first year
as starters will also play a major role in whether
Leominster wins for the first time in six years or Fitchburg
continues its recent dominance.

Last fall Fitchburg had Ryan Logan under center, a
quarterback who could both throw and run, while Leominster
had Kevin Barnaby, who set the school records for passing
yardage. Logan led Fitchburg to an 8-3 record, including a
28-20 win over Leominster at Crocker Field on Thanksgiving,
while Barnaby led Leominster to a 10-3 record and a win in
the Central/Western Mass. Division 1 Super Bowl.

This year's quarterbacks had big shoes to fill.

Fitchburg coach Ray Cosenza decided to take a chance and
named Earley, a sophomore, the starting quarterback of the
Red Raiders. Leominster coach John Dubzinski, meanwhile,
decided on senior Chris Swart after Swart outperformed two
other quarterbacks in pre-season practices.

Both coaches have been impressed by the way the
inexperienced quarterbacks have grown as the season has
progressed and performed under pressure.

"I think he's been outstanding," Cosenza said of
Earley. "He's clearly gotten better every game. If we were
to look at him from game one to now there is a huge
difference. We're really pleased with his development."

Similarly, Dubzinski said that Swart "has done a great
job. He's our most improved player. He was the
hardest-working kid in the off-season. Chris is a wonderful
example of what hard work can do. He was third- or
fourth-string on the freshman team, but he has tremendous
drive and love for the game and he's done a great job."

Regarding Raymond Earley, the big question heading into the
season was whether the sophomore would be emotionally ready
for the job of starting quarterback, whether he could handle
the pressure of having the ball in his hands every play and
would be able to put a bad play behind him and move on to
the next one.

"We knew that athletically he was very gifted, so we had
hoped that emotionally he would catch up to his athletic
ability, and he has done just that," said Cosenza. "He
handles situations now that he couldn't have handled, and
didn't handle, in game one or game two. He shakes things off
a lot easier, and he's much more mature and a better
leader. He's really come a long way.

"You put a kid in that position, you never know what is
going to happen, let alone a sophomore starting somewhere
else but someone taking snaps every play. He's just done a
great job."

Dubzinski had a better idea of what he would get out of
Swart, having watched him develop over three seasons, but
he's still been pleasantly surprised by Swart's performance.

"We had three kids who were rotating at quarterback, and he
won the job with his hard work," said Dubzinski.

Though both Earley and Swart have been better than expected,
neither is the focus of their team's offense. The Leominster
offense is led by its three running backs -- Anthony
Bizzotto, Adam Cordio and Tom Fallon -- who combined have
gained well over 2,000 yards. The Fitchburg offense,
meanwhile, is led by Earley's older brother, William, who
has rushed for 2,033 yards on his own.

Therefore, one of the main jobs Raymond Earley and Swart
have is to simply limit their mistakes.

"He very rarely makes mistakes," Dubzinski said of
Swart. "He understands what he is capable of doing, and that
is an important quality for a quarterback. He's improved
game-to-game and completed 50 percent of his passes for more
than 500 yards and four touchdowns. Now he's making very
good decisions. I can't say enough about his progress."

Although Dubzinski and Cosenza have rarely watched the
quarterbacks they will be facing on Thanksgiving, each has
been impressed by the little bit they have seen of the other
team's first-year starter.

"He does a great job," Cosenza said of Swart. "He knows what
his role is and he doesn't try to overdo it from what I've
seen. He throws the ball well when they need it and he
definitely runs that offense very well."

Meanwhile, Dubzinski said that Earley "is a very good
athlete and he's done a good job. He's improved a lot since
the beginning of the year."

Both Raymond Earley and Chris Swart now have 10 games as
starting quarterbacks under their respective belts, but just
as they were new to the starting role when the season began,
they are new to the position of starting quarterback in the
most heated high school rivalry in Central Mass.

Neither will be the main focus of their team's offense on
Thanksgiving Day, but their performance under pressure will
be important to determining which team wins.
 


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