FHS hangs tough
By Chad Garner
cgarner@sentinelandenterprise.com


MARLBORO -- Marlboro knew that Fitchburg was going to feed
star junior tailback William Earley the football early and
often.

But the Panthers had no answer for the power running and
speed of Earley. Backed by strong offensive line play,
Earley followed his blockers for 252 yards on 27 carries and
scored four touchdowns on runs of 24, 54, 50 and 10 as the
Red Raiders improved to 2-1 with a 29-21 victory Friday
night at Kelleher Field.

"Our offense came through and we scored more than they did,"
said Fitchburg coach Ray Cosenza. "(Earley's)
unbelievable. The thing that's amazing about it is people
know he's going to get the ball and he still manages to get
it done. I credit our offensive line, they did a nice job."

With Fitchburg up by only one point, 14-13, to begin the
third quarter, the Red Raiders fumbled on their opening
drive, but got the ball back on a three-and-out series.

Fitchburg chewed up 5:51 off the game clock, driving 80
yards on 10 plays, capped off by Earley's 50-yard TD run on
fourth down to give the Red Raiders a 21-13 lead.

Marlboro (1-2) went nine plays down to the Fitchburg 20, but
QB Nick Lazaros was sacked and fumbled at the Red Raider 24.

It took only four plays for Fitchburg to build a 29-13 lead
as fullback Eldred Wright (11 carries, 109 yards) rumbled 56
yards down to the 10, and Earley went off left tackle for
the final 10 yards. Holder Curt Barrett ran in the botched
point after attempt for 2-point conversion.

Marlboro cut the deficit to 29-21 late as Jesse Atocha
hauled in a 6-yard scoring strike from Lazaros, who also ran
in the conversion. But the on-side kick was fielded cleanly
by Fitchburg's T.J. Loughlin to seal the victory.

Fitchburg set the tempo right away as Matt Thibeault
recovered the opening kickoff at the Marlboro 36.

The combination of two carries apiece from Earley and
Wright, and a 10-yard holding penalty brought the ball to
the 24. On second down, Earley took the draw play up the gut
and went untouched for the first TD of the game. Tom
Benoit's PAT made it 7-0 Fitchburg.

Marlboro answered to begin the second quarter on Bob Hogan's
2-yard TD run to tie the game up.

The Panthers appeared to hold Fitchburg at the Red Raider 46
late in the second quarter, but a fake punt resulted in
Earley taking a direct snap all the way into the end zone
for a 54-yard TD run with 55 seconds left in the second
quarter.

"We've had that for quite a while," said Cosenza. "We felt
that we needed something to change our momentum. Will did a
great job of taking it to the house."

Marlboro drove 54 yards in 24 seconds as Lazaros ran three
times for 25 yards, and then found Hogan on a quick slant
for the 19-yard TD. The extra point sailed wide right.

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