Earley, Raiders squash Devils
Earley's great game sparks Raiders
Fitchburg 24 - Leominster 14

By John McGuirk
CORRESPONDENT

LEOMINSTER- Whatever was ailing Fitchburg two weeks ago was
cured in yesterday's traditional showdown against
Leominster.

Before a capacity of crowd of over 5,000 at Doyle Field, the
Red Raiders' offense was alive and well as they ripped
through the Blue Devils for a 24-14 victory in the 120th
meeting (98th on Thanksgiving) between the rivals.

After scoring only two points in a 6-2 loss against
St. John's in its previous outing, third-ranked Fitchburg
looked to its high-octane offensive weapon to lead the way
against the top-ranked Blue Devils. Junior running back
William Earley was nothing short of remarkable as he rumbled
through the Blue Devils' defense for 262 yards on 40 carries
and scored all four of the Red Raiders' touchdowns.

The victory propels Fitchburg (8-3, 7-1 Division 1) into the
Division 1 Super Bowl at 3:15 p.m. next Saturday against
Longmeadow at Springfield College. It will mark the Red
Raiders' 12th postseason appearance.

Suffice to say, Red Raiders coach Ray Cosenza has
Leominster's number. In his 16th season at the helm, Cosenza
is 12-4 versus the Blue Devils. Fitchburg has won six
straight in this fabled contest and 13 of the last 14.

"I wish I could bottle it up and sell it," Cosenza said
regarding his success against Leominster. "I think it's the
type of kids that we have here. They never quit. We have a
great coaching staff here and our game plan was excellent
today. William was able to break some runs early and got
some tough yardage when we needed it. That's the type of
back he is and our offensive line played very well, too."

The game plan was simple - give the ball to Earley and let
him do the rest. Two of his scoring runs in the opening half
were from 46 and 51 yards. Against St. John's, the Pioneers'
defense was able to limit Earley's long gainers. But against
the Blue Devils, Earley found some gaping holes to his
liking and sliced through them with relative ease.

"I didn't think I'd get the ball 40 times," said Earley, who
has rushed for 2,265 yards and 32 touchdowns this season. "I
have to thank my linemen up front who opened some holes for
me."

In the first half alone, Earley gained 173 yards on 17
attempts. For the game, Fitchburg amassed 315 yards while
holding Leominster to 201. Leominster's vaunted running
attack of Adam Cordio, Anthony Bizzotto and Tom Fallon was
held in check as the trio totaled 106 yards on a combined 28
carries.

"Earley made big plays for them," said Leominster coach John
Dubzinski, whose team ends the season 8-2-1 (7-1). He's done
that to everybody this year. I thought we did a better job
containing him in the second half and held him in check, but
he hurt us in the first half.

"I'm disappointed with the loss, but I'm not disappointed
with the season that we had. The kids did a great job
throughout the season."

Two of Fitchburg's scores came off Leominster turnovers,
including one on Leominster's first possession when Bizzotto
coughed it up on the Blue Devils' 47. It took Earley all of
three plays before his 46-yard scamper put Fitchburg ahead,
6-0.

But the Blue Devils were able to regroup. Mounting an
11-play drive that covered 57 yards, Cordio finished things
off with a 10-yard run around right end to tie the game at 6
with 5:30 remaining in the first quarter.

The Blue Devils could have taken the lead after Red Raiders
punter Brian Ricciuti lost control of a snap and was tackled
on the Leominster 9. But the Blue Devils failed to convert,
as the Fitchburg defense stalled them on the 4. That, in
turn, ignited the Red Raiders.

Facing a fourth-and-2 from his own 12, Earley took the snap
on a would-be punt and gained three yards to keep the drive
alive. Cosenza said the play was a miscommunication between
the coaching staff and the players, but it ended up paying
dividends for the Red Raiders. That's because Earley
finished the march with his 51-yard keeper to put Fitchburg
ahead, 12-6, with 7:32 remaining before halftime.

Earley padded the lead to 18-6 on Fitchburg's next
possession, finishing it out with an 8-yard run with under a
minute to go before the break.

An Earley fumble midway through the third set up
Leominster's second score. A 28-yard pass from Chris Swart
to Tim DiLillo set up a Bizzotto 1-yard keeper. Bizzotto
also caught the conversion pass to close the gap to 18-14
with three minutes left in the third quarter.

A costly fumble on a pitch by Swart early in the final
quarter was recovered by Fitchburg's Austin Douglas at the
Leominster 9 and paved the way for an Earley 3-yard scoring
jaunt. From that point on, the Red Raiders were Super Bowl
bound.

"This win feels much better than winning any of the other
regular season games," Earley said.

Added Cosenza: "Some people might've given up on us, but we
get to play another week which is pretty good."




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