Stars come out during day

LeBlanc duo leads Fitchburg to rout of Oakmont

  Sunday, October 25, 1998

  By Jay Gearan
  CORRESPONDENT 

Fitchburg 38 Oakmont 8

ASHBURNHAM -- After six straight night games,
undefeated Fitchburg met Oakmont on a sunny afternoon
yesterday.

 The game time didn't matter as the 7-0 Red Raiders ran to
daylight as well as they have under the stars in a 38-8
victory over the Spartans in front of a crowd of 1,800 at
Hurd Field.

 "It's definitely different," Fitchburg coach Ray
Cosenza said. "But even though it was a day game, it had
the atmosphere of the evening. We had a great day to play,
and it brought the people out."

 The Raiders, with their starring running duo of Andy and
Dustin LeBlanc, were again nearly impossible to stop on the
ground.

 Scoring two of his three touchdowns in the first half Andy
LeBlanc led Fitchburg to a 16-0 lead.

 In the second quarter, the 3-4 Spartans cut the lead to
16-8 on a determined seven-minute drive that covered 65
yards. Adam Schleyer powered for short gains on five
carries, and Shawn Collette swept the final 6 for a
touchdown just 51 seconds from halftime. Quarterback Matt
O'Day ran in the two-point conversion.

 Fitchburg, however, crushed the Spartans' momentum by
scoring in the last seven seconds of the half on a Dave
Masciareilli TD pass to Dallas Heckel on a sideline-and-up
route that covered 38 yards.

 Explained Cosenza, "We actually told Dallas to spin to
the outside and get out of bounds if he was going to get
tackled. He spun, pulled away and it worked perfectly. That
was a key play because they (Oakmont) had a lot of momentum
going."

 Masciarelli bootlegged the two-point conversion for a 24-8
halftime lead.

 The advantage quickly grew to 31-8 in the third quarter
after a 64-yard drive in eight plays ended with Andy
LeBlanc's third TD on a 6-yard off-tackle slant.

 Fitchburg launched a final-quarter drive keyed by
sophomores Jason Twomley at quarterback and running back
McDonald. Jason Quinn plowed 2 yards for the last touchdown
with 1:47 left.

 LeBlanc's first-half scores came on runs of 9 and 11
yards. Zack Sicard added the point-after kicks.

 The Raiders recorded a first-half safety after a botched
snap on an Oakmont attempted punt on the first play of the
second quarter.

 Keith Leavitt and Jeremy Saucier paced the rugged Raider
defensive corps.

 "It wasn't our best game, but I attribute that to
Oakmont," Cosenza said. "I thought they played real
hard-nosed."

Fitchburg High School Athletics and Competiton Home page