Raiders Put on Show at Crocker
FHS finishes off Chieftains in second half
by Rick Eggleston

FITCHBURG -- On a night night when the University of
Massachusetts marching band literally stole the show at
Crocker Field, the Fitchburg High football team probably
didn't mind playing second fiddle.

No, the Red Raiders didn't suffer a second straight loss but
watched as a scrappy Nashoba Regional squad held them in
check for the first 22 minutes of the ballgame before Fithburg
pulled away in the second half for a 35-7 win Friday
night.

FHS quarterback Rayan Logan broke off a 60-yard touchdown
run and later hit Matt Donovan for a 34-yard TD strike to
complete a stellar second half surge for the Red Raiders
(3-1, 1-1).

"We still have to cut down on the mental mistakes, we're
making too many mental mistakes," said Fitchburg head coach
Ray Cosenza of his team's slow start in the first half.
"All in all it's a good win after last week -- that (a one
point loss to St. Peterer-Marian) was devestating for us.
Now we're back on track and have to get ready for a big gmae
against Brockton (next Friday)".

Indeed, as hard as the Red Raiders' took last week's loss to
the Guardians, they managed to put it behind them Friday
against the still winless Chieftains (0-4, 0-2).

Faced with slick and soggy field conditions for the second
staight week, both teams employed the run -- Nashoba on the
heels (like St. Peter-Marian) of its Wing-T formation and
running back Zach Tillo (15 carries for 77 yards), while
Fitchburg got the job done behind running back William
Earley's 11 takes for 114 yards.

A stronger defensive effort in the second half did the rest
for the Raiders, who shut out the Chieftains behind big hits
from Jeremy Barry and Steve Marrella and when the Chieftains
did elect to throw, Earley was there to provide tight
coverage.

Which is exactly what he did late in the third quarter,
braking up a pass on an option by Nashoba that forced the
Chieftains to punt.

Taking over on its 35, Fitchburg ran just two plays, the
second of which saw Logan take a keeper 60 yards down the
right side for the easy score.  He ran in the conversion,
and the Raiders led 22-7 with 2:34 left in the third
quarter.

"Even though there was bad field conditions, we executed the
option well."  Cosenza said.  "Ryan made a good decisino on
that play."

Tillo and the Chieftains got the ball back and started to
grind away at Fitchburg's defenses, but fumbled the ball
away to open the fourth quarter.  Jeff Smart pounced on the
loose ball, giving Fitchburg the ball at its own 46.

Earley busted off a 14 yard gain on second down, moving the
ball into Nashoba territory for the first down.  After
Donovan scurried for a 5 yard pick up, Logan rolled left and
hit Donovan with a short screen pass that was good for a 34
yard TD.  Logan booted the extra point, makeing it 29-7.

Fitchburg maintained its pressure on defense, forcing the
Chieftains to make bad decisions and turn the ball over.
Then, with the substitutes streaming into the game, FHS
sophomore Deashawn Perkins took a handoff 25 yards after a
Nashoba turnover for his first varsity touchdown with 1:47
left to play.

The Minutemen, however, weren't the only ones stealing the
show early on, as the Chieftains played an inspired first
half of football to lead the Red Raiders, 7-6, after the
first quarter.

Like it did against Leominster last week, Nashoba trailed
Fitchburg by just a touchdown at halftime.  And just like
last week, the Chieftains ran 12 more plays than the
opposition, this time 27-15 over the Red Raiders.

But Fitchburg executed when it needed to, and claimed the
early lead on its very first offensive play -- a 12 yard run
up the gut by Earley for his first touchdown.  Fitchburg's
defense set the stage for the quick strike, as Earley helped
his own cause by intercepting Jones at his own 35 and ran
the ball out to the 12.

After Fitchburg's defense again stood pat on Nashoba's
ensuing possession, the Chieftains got the ball back on
special teams when Fitchburg muffed the put.  Matt
O'Loughlin recovered the loose ball at the FHS 32.

"We fumbled the punt and did some things that really hurt
us, but Nashoba played really heard," Cosenza said.  "It's
tough to come in here 0-3 and they gave us a real fight."

The Chieftains racked off nine plays, which included hefty
gains of five and six yards by Tillo.  Jim Fulham took a
handoff seven yards to the FHS 6, and after a Tillo five
yard pick up Jones snuck in from a yard out for the score.
Dan Baer booted the extra point, and the Chieftains led 7-6
with under two minutes to go in the quarter.

"We're not too happy with the situatino right now -- we have
to get better in the second half," said Nashoba head coach
John Beary.  "We're not executing.  We're making it easy
for opposing teams in the second half."

After Nashoba was forced to punt midway through the second
quarter, Fitchburg needed just five plays to cover 38 yards
for paydirt.  Earley made an acrobatic catch on a botched
pitch-play, and carried it 19 yards for his second
touchdown.

Logan hit Matt Vieira in the corner of the end zone for the
conversion, and the Red Raiders led 14-7 at the half.

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