Leominster grinds out BC High win

By Rick Eggleston Correspondent

BOSTON -- Enduring a two-hour long bus ride wrought with
traffic on Route 95 and Interstate 93, members of the
Leominster football team couldn't wait to step onto the
field at Boston College High School and stretch its legs.

And once the Blue Devils hit the ground, they didn't stop
running as they proceeded to trample the Eagles, 28-8,
Friday night for their fourth straight win since opening the
season in these parts one month ago with a loss to Everett.

"I'm real proud of the kids. They came out and played their
best game of the season,'" said Leominster head coach John
Dubzinski, whose team squared off against the non-league
Eagles for the first time since 1986. "It was a tough ride
here, but we got early enough that the kids had plenty of
time to walk the field and prepare."

Thanks to what Dubzinski labeled as the best performances to
date out of senior quarterback Chris Swart -- 6 of 10
passing for 105 yards -- as well as the defense -- stopping
BC cold on its opening drive deep in Leominster territory on
fourth-and-1 behind hits from Tim DiLillo and Ryan Rendon --
the Blue Devils' (4-1) grinding offense methodically wore
the Eagles down all night long.

Tom Fallon chalked up 59 of his team-high 89 yards in the
second half, and scored Leominster's first touchdown early
in the second quarter, capping the Devils' dazzling 14-play,
80-yard opening strike with a 9-yard TD run for a 6-0
lead. During the drive, the Devils were led by big gains
from Adam Cordio, who topped off his night a with a pair
touchdowns and 68 yards on 22 carries, while Anthony
Bizzotto accounted for 79 of his 84 total yards on the
ground in the second half, including a back-breaking 40-yard
TD jaunt with 1:17 left to play.

"We gained a lot of confidence with that (opening) drive,'"
noted Dubzinski. "We had just stopped (BC) on fourth down
and were able to come out and put together a great drive.'"

That saw Swart likewise find his rhythm early-on by
connecting with a pair of 18-yard passes to Bizzotto and
DiLillo during the Devils' key opening drive.

The hits kept coming for Leominster on defense, and forced
the Eagles to punt on their ensuing possession. DiLillo and
Cordio came up with key hits, and after the Devils went
four-and-out with the ball, kept it going with another
punishing attack that saw them this time turn the Eagles
(2-3) away again on fourth down at the Devil 16. Pete
Gounaridis came up with a clutch tackle, DiLillo tipped a
pass away and it was Bizzotto who laid the smack down on BC
running threat Steve Hunt on fourth-and-2 for a two-yard
loss as the Devils regained possession to close out the
first half ahead, 6-0.

"We knew we came out (of the half) with the ball, so we
wanted to put together a good drive," Dubzinski said. "We
were stopped short, but we came right back on defense."

Indeed, after Swart and the Devils proceeded to open the
third quarter marching all the way down to the BC 1, only to
be denied the end zone on fourth down, Leominster's defense
again came out fired up to force the Eagles to punt.

What followed, of course, was a gritty, 11-play, 41-yard
strike for paydirt, capped by Cordio's two-yard take up the
middle -- this after the Blue Devils were faced with a
daunting third down and 25 to go from the BC 32. But Swart
found Bizzotto open on the right sideline, and had managed
to thread the ball to him through double coverage for a
23-yard gain.

A Bizzotto five-yard run gave Leominster the first down, and
two plays later, Cordio breezed in for the easy score. Swart
connected with Cordio for the two-point conversion, and gave
the Devils all they would need with for a tidy, 14-0 lead.

Solid play by Leominster's offensive line -- led by John
Ciccone, Ryan Bailey, Derek Ashcroft, Kevin Heinly and Seth
Tradiff -- held the Eagles at bay and opened up plenty of
holes.

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