L'Ecuyer, Devils hand Guardians their first defeat

Sunday, October 6, 2002
By John McGuirk

Leominster 14 St. Peter-Marian 12

WORCESTER-- A message for Leominster fans: It's time to give
 your team its due.
     Often criticized for not winning 'big' games, the
Blue Devils came up huge yesterday, knocking off previously
unbeaten St. Peter-Marian, 14-12, in a key Division 1 battle
at Guardian Field.
     Leominster (4-1, 2-0), which is ranked second in the
Telegram & Gazette Top 10, has won four straight since an
opening season loss to Everett. The third-ranked Guardians
(3-1, 1-1) were coming in on a high following their
last-second victory at Fitchburg a week ago.
     "Our kids played very well today," Leominster
coach John Dubzinski said. "Both teams had their chances
today and we feel very fortunate to come out of here with a
win. We're very pleased."
     The Blue Devils won this game with a solid running
attack. Senior tailback Kevin L'Ecuyer rushed for 204 yards
on 27 carries and scored once. Leominster totaled 215 yards
of offense.
     The Guardians finished with 270 yards. Bob Horan led
the way with 86 yards on 9 carries and both SPM scores.
     Last week, the SPM defense curtailed high-powered
running game of Fitchburg. Such was not the case yesterday.
     "They are a very solid team," SPM coach Owen
Kilcoyne said. "L'Ecuyer is a very good running back and
had a big game for them today."
     The Blue Devils held a 7-6 lead at the half before
adding to their margin late in the third.
     Bryan McDavitt's pass on a fake punt attempt was picked
off by Chris Cote. L'Ecuyer then ran seven consecutive
times, putting the Blue Devils on the SPM 22. On
third-and-8, Kevin Barnaby lofted a touchdown pass to Blake
Curry to put the Blue Devils on top, 14-6, with 4:29
remaining in the quarter.
     "We didn't feel comfortable passing the ball much
today," Dubzinski noted. "That was a big play for us,
but we felt more comfortable running the ball more
today."
     SPM's Pat Mulvihill hit Josh Rucho on passes of 25 and
9 yards to set up an 8-yard rollout TD pass to Horan with
2:45 remaining to make it 14-12. McDavitt's conversion run
was defused by Tom Fallon short of the end zone.
     SPM had one last chance, but Mulvihill's desperation
pass on the game's final play was intercepted by Fallon.
     "This was a great football game today," Kilcoyne
said. "You had two good football teams out here giving
their all."
     On Leominster's first play from scrimmage, L'Ecuyer
bounced off right tackle 68 yards for a touchdown. SPM
struggled early on offense and didn't get into a rhythm
until late in the second quarter.
     A 14-yard completion to Adam Karns set up a 4-yard
touchdown run by Horan. However, the PAT attempt sailed wide
and the Guardians trailed by one.

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