LeBlancs blitz the Blue Devils
Red Raiders carry undefeated season into Super Bowl
Friday, November 27, 1998 By John McGuirk CORRESPONDENT Fitchburg 21 Leominster 7
FITCHBURG -- It didn't take Leominster long to figure out what Fitchburg's opponents have realized all season -- toning down the Red Raiders' running attack is about all anyone can hope for, because stopping it is virtually impossible. Fitchburg's backfield duo of Dustin LeBlanc and Andy LeBlanc combined for 319 yards in leading the Red Raiders to a 21-7 victory yesterday before 6,500 fans at Crocker Field in the 115th meeting -- 93rd on Thanksgiving -- between the two rivals. Fitchburg improves to 11-0, marking its first unbeaten and untied regular season since 1933. The Red Raiders also captured the Mid-Wach A Division crown and will face Springfield Cathedral a week from Saturday at WPI in the Division 1 Central/Western Mass. Super Bowl. The Red Raiders also tied this historic series at 53-53-9. " We came out ready to play today," said Fitchburg coach Ray Cosenza, whose club piled up 398 total yards to Leominster's 163. In spite of the loss, Leominster (8-2) is also going to the postseason. The Blue Devils will meet Holyoke (6-4) in the Division 1A Central/Western Mass. Super Bowl at Springfield College a week from Saturday. The contribution of seniors Dustin and Andy LeBlanc (no relation), proved to be the difference. Dustin finished with 167 yards on 24 carries and a pair of scores (his 16th and 17th of the season), while Andy added 152 yards on 29 carries. "They've been our go-to guys all year," Cosenza said. "We didn't try to do anything fancy. We just wanted to pound the ball up the middle. I thought our offensive line did a great job blocking up front." Fitchburg dominated the first half as it gained 251 yards while allowing just 21. The Red Raiders also were dominant on the scoreboard, taking a 21-0 halftime lead. "That was the key, to get such a big lead early," Andy LeBlanc said. "That took the pressure off us." Fitchburg got things going on its second possession of the game, starting from its own 41 as the LeBlancs carried the Red Raiders to the one-yard line. That's when sophomore quarterback Jason Twomley, who split time with David Masciarelli, dove in for the score. Zack Sicard's first of three PATS had Fitchburg in front, 7-0, with 4:31 left in the first quarter. A key to the drive was Leominster going offside when Fitchburg was set to kick a field goal. Because of the penalty, the Fitchburg offense got another chance. While Leominster was unable to muster anything offensively in the first half, the Red Raiders were back at it a few minutes later. Facing a second-and-10 at the 50, Twomley tossed a screen pass to Dustin LeBlanc who went the distance to make it 14-0 at 11:44 of the second quarter. Fitchburg was far from done. Following a Blue Devils' punt to the 16, the Red Raiders mounted a sustained, six-minute drive, with Dustin LeBlanc capping it off with a three-yard touchdown run, making it 21-0 with 2:56 left in the half. "Fitchburg has a great team," Leominster coach John Dubzinski said. "We made too many mistakes in the first half." Leominster finally got a break early in the third after it recovered a Fitchburg fumble. The Blue Devils, behind the solid running of senior tailback Tim Nowokunski, marched down field and finally got on the board at 21-7, thanks to a Nowokunski 15-yard scamper with 3:48 left in the quarter. Nowokunski, who was held to just 23 yards in the first half, broke loose in the second, finishing with 157 yards on 20 carries. The Blue Devils made a gallant attempt to cut deeper into the deficit late in the fourth, but were stopped short on a fourth-and-two on the Fitchburg 7. "It's disappointing to lose today, but we still have a chance to end ourseason on a positive note at the Super Bowl," Dubzinski said. "Our kids deserve it forthe way they've played this year."
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