Red Raiders blast Hawks



Andy LeBlanc takes his turn at leading offense


By Rick Eggleston
Staff Writer

MILFORD -- Fitchburg football fans got a good look at
the future Friday night at Milford, as the Raiders scored
three touchdowns in the first half, and added two more on
their first two possessions in the second, enroute to a 35-6
rout of the Scarlet Hawks.

After Dave Mascierelli hit wide receiver Tom Snow with his
second (45 yards) of two long touchdown passes in the game,
and Zack Sicard nailed his fifth straight point after
attempt, Fitchburg coach Ray Cosenza let off the gas a bit
to allow his second string to gain some valuable playing
time.

"That's the great thing about this team," said Cosenza.
"Everybody went in and knew what they had to do.  Everyone
deserves a mention tonight."

Milford was tough

Indeed, the entire Red RAider lineup did his part in
bringing the team its third straight victory, while the
depleted Scarlet Hawks fell to 0-2.  Still, however, Cosenza
was nothing bu grcious toward the no-quit effort undersized
Milford mustered.

At one point, according to Cosenza, there was even some
question about whether his team would be able to crack
Milford's defense.

"They had certainly had us thinking," Cosenza said.  "But we
were able to respond to what they were doing, and Andy
(LeBlanc) did a nice job getting to the outside."

It seemed like each time the senior tailback would do that it
led to six quick points for the Raiders.

It did at the start of the third quarter, and despite Fitchburg
being whistled for a holding call on a sweep, a first down and 
two plays later saw LeBlanc take the ball in 16 yards for the
score.  The run TD carry pushed LeBlanc over the 100 yards rushing
mark, and he finished the night with 137 yards on 24 carries.

Dustin plays well again

Meanwhile, Dustin LeBlanc managed to have himself another
stellar evening, and scored the game's first touchdown -- an
impressive 62-yard jaunt back in the first quarter.  Dustin
Leblanc wound up rushing for 78 yards on just five carries.

But it was Fitchburg's crushing defense which remained most
impressive in the first half.  Himself credited with hauling
in the ball for two of threee interceptions for the Raiders,
one of the picks made by junior back Saul Sicard led to a
touchdown.

"I know when I got there I have a certain responsibility to
carry out," Sicard said.  "I just dropped back and grabbed
the ball."

Sicard's first interception came during Milford's third
possession of the first quarter, and on second down grabbed
a pass from Milford quarterback Drew Archer at Fitchburg's
own 49.  One play later, Masciarelli connected with Snow on
the right flank for a 51-yard touchdown pass.  Zack Sicard
booted the extra point, and gave the Raiders a 14-0 lead.

Superb blocking by the Fitchburg linemen B.J.Kennan, Keith
Leavitt, P.J.Roy, Derik Johnson and Andy Roy only fueled the
Raiders' torrid offensive strike in the first half, but
later culminated with the defense helping give Fitchburg
excellent field position with 1:25 to go in the half.

Taking over on Milford's own 29, Masciarelli (3-for-5, 96
yards) needed just five plays for paydirt, and scored
Fitchburg's final TD of the half with a 6-yard keeper up the
middle on third down.

Big lead at half

Before heading into the locker room, however, Fitchburg's
defense managed to give its offense one more possession, as
a crushing hit by Roy on Archer had the senior veteran
picking up the sack, and a 5-yard loss for Milford.

"Our defense did a great job tonight," Cosenza said.  "and
we had some guys come back for us and have great games."

Namely sophomore Frank MacDonald, who returned for the
Raiders off the injured list to help take some of the
pressure off the LeBlancs at running back.  MacDonald was
among a slew of notables for the Raiders and chalked up 72
yards on the ground on nine tries.  MacDonald's biggest gain
was a 30-yard pick-up in the second quarter.

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