Nashoba puts together special victory over FHS

By Jim Clark

BOLTON - It figured that Nashoba's explosive attack was going to
be tough enough to stop this season but now opponents have to 
worry about the Chieftains scoring before the offense even touches
the ball.


Nashoba returned one kickoff for a game-clinching touchdown and
set up two other scores with big returns, all the while turning
Friday night's early-season showdown with Fitchburg into a surprising
37-6 victory.


Wally Zadroga paced the Nashoba attack with three touchdowns, scoring
one on the ground and hauling in one of quarterback Dave Masi's two
scoring strikes.  The other was 65-yard kick return early in the
fourth quarter, capping off a scoring flurry that sent the Chieftains
on their way to a convincing win.


"High school football is a game of field position and turnovers,"
said Nashoba coach Ken Tucker.  "When you get turnovers, it always
works in your favor."


Tables turned on Raiders

And when a team gets big plays on special teams, it certainly doesn't
hurt, either.  Just ask Fitchburg, which used a kick return to win 
last week's opener against St. Peter-Marian, but had a tough time
stopping the Chieftains in that aspect of the game.


"It sas a combination of everything.  They beat us in every phase of
the game," said Fitchburg coach Ray Cosenza. "Special teams, especially."


"The two were evenly matched, but we just played harder than them."
Zadroga said.  The Red Raiders had to be wary of the various Chieftains
who could do them harm.  The special teams play set the tone for the
game, and their execution in the Wing-T offense merely finished if off.


It was Jamie YOung who got things rolling when he returned the 
opening kickoff 60 yards before being caught by Tom Snow at the 25.
It turned out to be a big play when Nashoba stalled, but Shaun
Feldeisen drilled a 22-yard field goal -- special teams again --
for a 3-0 lead.


"We thought about going for the touchdown and pinning them in there,"
Tucker admitted, "but we decided to go for three."  The other piece
of Tucker's credo - turnovers - killed Fitchburg's opening drive when
Tim Stock recoverd a fumble to end a drive at the Nashoba 38.  
Twelve plays later, Zadroga took a pitch from Masi and swept the 
left side fora 10-0 lead.


Another big return
When the defense, which gave Fitchburg little room all night, forced
a three-and-out, Strade returned the punt 32 yards to the Raiders' 23.
He followed that three plays later when he hauled in Masi's pass and
bulled into the end zone to give the Chieftains a solid 17-0 advantage.


Fitchburg had its best chance late in the half, driving to the
Nashoba 18 before a fourth-down pass fell incomplete and Nashoba took
it into the locker room.


"Coach John Bery put together a great defensive play," Tucker said.  
"We had them well-scouted.  We were up 17-0, but they were driving.
I think it would have made big difference if they scored before 
halftime."


Fitchburg couldn't get much gong on the ground, and quarterback
David Masciarelli constantly found the pressure in his face from
the swarming Nashoba defense.  Chuck SArgent had a pair of sacks
and Jason Patterson added another early in the second half to 
thwart another Fitchburg opportuninty.  The Raiders had 162 yards
total offense, nearly half of that coming one play.


Chieftains run up big victory

"They were prepared for us and their kids palyed hard," Cosenza
said.  "Our hats are off to them."  But Nashoba couldn't put
it away until early in the fourth quarter, a bizarre sequence that
featured three touchdowns in a span of 1:19.  Masi's strike to
Zadroga made it 24-0 with 10:54 to go, but Fitchburg finally answered
when Masciarelli hit Snow in stride on a fly pattern down the
right side.  That 72-yard strike made it a 24-6 game.


"I never felt secure until that touchdown on the kichoff," Tucker said.
That would be when Zadroga took a pooch kick at his own 35 and 
eventually slipped thought the crowd before breaking away down the
left sideofor the 65-yard score.


"I just stood there for a few seconds and let the blockers set up,
then I just took off," said Zadroga.  "Special teams is always the
most exciting part of the game."


The Chieftains finished the scoring on Tony Fuller's 10-yard plunge 
in the final moments, just before the wild celebration kicked off.


"I think we proved we can play, but we're not too high on ourselves.
We take it one game at a time," said Zadroga, who led the balanced
attack with 73 yards on 12 carries.  Nashoba had 238 yards of its
276 total yards on the ground.


"It was closer than the score indicates.  We asked them before the
game to play their best game, that's all we can ask," Tucker said.


Was it their best game?


"They played their best game so far," Tucker added.  "It's a long
season."