Raiders get offensive
Fitchburg O-line paves way as ground game nets 278 yards by Eric Avidon eavidon@sentinelandenterprise.com
Fitchburg -- Fitchburg went three plays and out the first time it had the ball Friday night against Oakmont Regional, but then the Red Raider offensive line took command of the game. It manhandled the Oakmont defensive front to the tune of 173 yards and 21 points in the second quarter alone and led Fitchburg to a 34-0 win over the host Spartans at Monty Tech's Bulldog Field. "All week long we've been working in the chute just trying to get lower, and we figured that the offensive line would be the key to this game," said Fitchburg senior tackle Austin Douglas. "We're not really an explosive team,but I think we grinded it out really well tonight. Some guys like Shane Boucher and Derek Paine really did a great job. Everything really came together this week." Similarly, Fitchburg head coach Ray Cosenza said, "We definetely made a big improvement (with our line play). We got off the ball a little better, which we stressed in practice this week. We tried to take some fancy things out and told them to just play hard-nosed football. I think our secondary improved also, and those were the two areas where we felt really hurt us last week." At the outset it was Oakmont (0-2) that looked like the better team. The Spartans received the opening kickoff, gained two first downs and held the ball for 10 plays before Douglas sacked Jake Catlin on fourth down. The Oakmont defense then held Fitchburg (1-1) to five yards on three plays and forced a punt. But then Fitchburg's size started to make a difference. The Red Raiders forced a three and out, then the offensive line led Fitchburg on a six play, 53 yard touchdown drive capped off by a Justin McDonald 10 yard run on an option play to the left. Fitchburg then recovered an onside kick and promptly went 49 yards in 10 plays for another touchdown and a 13-0 lead. This time McDonald (13 carries for 92 yards and two TDs) converted from four yards out for the score. When Oakmont finally got the ball, the Red Raiders once again forced a three and out. That set up a 45 yard touchdown drive that ended with 14 yard bootleg by quarterback Brian Ricciuti (68 yards passing, 15 rushing) to give Fitchburg a 21-0 lead and close out the first half. "That's what's going to happen when you have 50 or 60 against 30," said Oakmont coach Bill Grenier. "These kids work hard during the week, give 100 percent as long as they can and then give another 100 percent, but it's not as strong as the first hundred." He added, "We did better than last week. They improved over last week. I don't think Fitchburg expected us to come out like we did. There's no way we played to a 21-0 half. We played a lot better than that, but they just got some breaks. We played very well." Fitchburg added to its lead with a 91 yard drive in the third quarter, capped off by a six yard run by Eldred Wright (nine carries for 132 yards and one TD) to give the Red Raiders a 27-0 lead. And the scoring mercifully ended early in the fourth quarter when Brett BArrows rolled in from four yards out to finish off a 70 yard drive. "(Justin) ran real hard," said Cosenza. "He hasn't enough reps yet, so when he starts seeing the holes a little better he's going to be a tough weapon. Eldred did a great job as well." He added that Fitrchburg is "going to get better. This was a good start. It was nice to experience this and get a little confidence because we're going to need it with the teams we're going to play."
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