Wait a minute..... Ricky Morales?
Indeed, the senior halfback completed a pair of passes for 60 yards, including a 30-yard scoring strike to Colin Burns, as Fitchburg High held off Oakmont, 36-20.
"I don't mind it, it brings back memories." said Morales, who was a quarterback when he was a freshman. But don't look for Morales to supplant Raiders quarterback Devin Gates, who also threw for his first touchdown of the year and added a pair of two-point conversion tosses.
Morales found plenty of occasion to run the ball as well, lugging it 18 times for 109 yards. His backfield mates, Gates and fullback Chris Roy, each scored once as the Raiders improved to 6-0-1.
LaRoche completed 12 of 28 passes for 144 yards, including a pair of second half touchdowns to senior Kevin Norris. But it was a familiar story for the Spartans against a strong opponent this season, hanging tough but not having enough horses to pull it out in the end.
Oakmont (3-4) took a 7-6 lead into the second quarter before Fitchburg exploded with 22 more points before intermission.. After scoring runs by Roy and Oakmont's Casey Farias, the Spartans had the ball deep in their own territory in the second quarter. But a fumble on second down was recovered by Rich Demar, and on the next play Morales took a toss to the left side, pulled up and found Burns streaking down the sideline for the score.
"They're very aggressive on defense. They come flying up off the corners," Fitchburg coash Ray Cosenza said. "It was there and our kids executed every time."
"If I have to do it, I do it. You just make it look like it's a run." said Morales, who also was nearly on the receiving end of a option touchdown pass from Roy, but couldn't handle the ball in the end zone.
The Raiders toughened on defense the rest of the half, forcing a pair of punts that lead to a Gates 1-yard sneak and a 4-yard slant-in pass to Burns with just 12 seconds left in the half.
"I think when our kids see green and red on the same field, they think it's Christmas and give out a few presents," LaRoche said, alluding to the penalties aadn turnovers. But the coach was pleased with the playh of his son, who found Norris once more from 24 yards out to slice it to 36-20 with 2:33 to go.
"He's a good thrower and he runs the ball well, so you've got to be cautious," Cosenza said of LaRoche. Oakmont, which nearly erased a late deficit last week agaist St. Peter-Marian, couldn't recover the onsides kick this time as the Raiders ran out the clock.
"We've had a great series here. Two years ago we had a big lead and they came back," Cosenza said. "Every time we've watched them here, they've come back." The Raiders who played without two-way lineman Matt Sallila, also lost Roy when he was shaken up on a kickoff return in the second half. "He got a little banged in the head, so we just want to play it safe," Cosenza said.