Devils claim Super berth
Saturday, November 14, 1998

By Steven Hedlund
CORRESPONDENT 

Leominster 14 North Middlesex 10
LEOMINSTER --Mounting a second-half comeback,
Leominster High slipped past North Middlesex, 14-10, last
night at Doyle Field to clinch a Super Bowl spot for the
second straight season.
         The Blue Devils defeated Holyoke, 45-13, last year
in the Division 1A game.
         Leominster is 9-1 with one game remaining. It will,
of course, meet undefeated Fitchburg on Thanksgiving morning
in the 115th meeting of the neighboring rivals.  The
Central-Western Mass. Super Bowls will be played Dec. 5.
         The Patriots had a chance to pull off an upset, but
on fourth and inches at Leominster's 24-yard line, senior
quarterback Andy Jastrab was tackled just short of a first
down with about five minutes to go in the game.
         "We played our hearts out, but we didn't catch any
breaks in the end," said North Middlesex coach John
Margarita, whose team fell to 5-4-1. "It's tough to take
when it comes down to that. We played hard."
         Down, 10-6, the Blue Devils opened the second half
with an 85-yard scoring drive behind senior running back Tim
Nowokunski's 72 yards on eight carries.  Nowokunski ended
the drive with a 26-yard touchdown run up the middle. He
finished with a game-high 175 yards on 14 carries.
         "Nowokunski has been a great back all season. He's
a tough runner," Leominster coach John Dubzinski
said. "After their first scoring drive, I thought we played
well. The key was holding North Middlesex to a field goal at
the end of the first half."
         With no timeouts left, Jastrab was forced to spike
the ball on third down at Leominster's 10-yard line. Junior
Kai Kurylak nailed a 26-yard field goal as time expired in
the first half, putting the Patriots up,
10-6.

PATRIOTS STRIKE EARLY

         North Middlesex stunned the Blue Devils by striking
first with a 75-yard scoring drive in the first quarter.
Senior running back Matt Jeannotte marched into the end zone
on a 6-yard run. Jeannotte rushed for 90 yards on 14 carries.
         Leominster got to within 7-6 when Christopher
Powers ran 8 yards up the middle with 8:45 left in the first
half.
         The second half belonged to the Leominster defense,
though. The Blue Devils held North Middlesex to one first
down and no points after halftime.
         "Brandon Roche, Jon Hudson, Bob Turner, Seth Ellis
and Chris Powers stepped it up on defense," Dubzinski said.
         "These kids were determined this season. They're
overachievers," he added.

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