FITCHBURG -- In the words of Fitchburg running back Andy LeBlanc, it was “an awesome start.”
         The Red Raiders rolled in their home opener at Crocker Field last night, soundly beating St. Peter-Marian, 41-13.
         LeBlanc was speaking about the team's performance, but his own was pretty awesome in itself. The senior scored three touchdowns.
         Dustin LeBlanc added another as the Raiders opened up a 21-0 lead by the midpoint of the second quarter.
         “Our line had a great surge tonight,” said LeBlanc, who scored three TD's against Shrewsbury last season as a junior.
         The Red Raiders scored four times in the first half, three TD's on the ground and one in the air on a 43-yard bomb from quarterback Dave Masciarelli to a wide-open Dallas Heckel, just 28 seconds from intermission.
         “I'm thrilled with the start,” Fitchburg coach Ray Cosenza said. “Andy, Dustin and Dave played great, but the bottom line is that we won the battle of the offensive line.”
         Key to the Fitchburg success was the outstanding up-front blocking of P.J. Roy, Braedon Keenan and 6-8, 280 lb. Keith Leavitt.
         After Jeremy Saucier, on a key fourth down tackle, stopped the Guardians' opening drive, a charge that took them inside Fitchburg's 30 on strong rushes from Raul Lugo, Tom Dusziak and Rick Appiah, Fitchburg mounted a 73-yard scoring drive on the ground in seven plays.
         Dustin LeBlanc sprinted 36 yards, and Andy Leblanc scored on an eight-yard TD run off right tackle after a nice cutback at the five.
         Zack Sicard, a left-footed kicker, booted the first of his five extra points and the Raiders led 7-0.
         Three plays into the second quarter, Dustin LeBlanc, who had raced for 48-yard gain, scored from a yard out and it was 14-0.
         Fitchburg's Saucier recovered a fumble to stop another Guardian drive, and soon the Raiders were up 21-0 on a 43-yard TD run by Andy LeBlanc who took a pitch right, got a superb block from Frank McDonald and raced all the way.
         With 56 seconds left in the half, the Guardians cut the lead to 21-7 when Dusziak, untouched, scooted around the left side for a 25-yard score. Adam Kulis added the extra point.
         But as the final seconds of the half ticked away, Fitchburg baited the Guardians with two running plays by Dustin LeBlanc, before Masciarelli, from midfield, on a great play-action fake, hit Heckel open on the 30. He legged it all the way for the 43-yard score and the 28-7 lead at halftime.
         “We were in our two minute offense,” Cosenza explained, “and Dave ran the play perfectly.”
         Armed with a 21-point lead, the Raiders waited until 43 seconds were left in the third quarter to strike again. Andy LeBlanc scored his third TD on an 11-yard jaunt for a 35-7 lead.
         The Guardians Derrick Card, only a freshman, sprinted 40 yards to wake up SPM early in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 35-13.
         But, even with the Raiders substituting freely, they scored again and after solid rushes by Jason Quinn and Ryan Legros into Guardian territory.
         Quarterback Jason Twomley sneaked over from the 3 for the final Fitchburg score at 41-13.
         “We have no excuses,” St. Peter-Marian coach Owen Kilcoyne said. “Ray has a seasoned team, and we're young. We played only two or three seniors.”