Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS’s #1 Montgomery Graham tries to avoid TRHS #4 Henry Yang. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
WORCESTER — Ryan Sears and Liam Gore combined for 253 yards and helped the second-seeded Warriors roll to a 26-14 win over top-seeded Fitchburg in Saturday morning’s Central Mass. Division 4 championship game at Foley Stadium.
The loss drops Fitchburg to 7-3 on the season, and marks the second defeat to the Sturbridge squad this season. Yet while there is certainly disappointment in the hearts and minds of the Red Raiders, there is still one more game for FHS to play: The annual Thanksgiving tilt against archrival Leominster at 10 a.m.Thursday, Nov. 28 at Crocker Field.
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #5 Dee Jones gets hug from one of his coaches. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHs's #1 Montgomery Graham gets a hug from one of his coaches. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #13 Devon Barisano was disappointed that they lost. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #13 Devon Barisano was disappointed that they lost. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. TRHS's #8 Dominic Brown knocks the ball away from FHS's #9 Donnovan DeLeon. On Right is TRHS's #20 Nathan Winco. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #22 Gabriel Gaitan tries to take down TRHS's #4 Ryan Sears. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #22 Gabriel Gaitan trips up TRHS's #38 Liam Gore. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's fans Joe Bowen and Nick Squailia cheer for the defense. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #6 Sam Robichaud tries to take down TRHS's #28 Aidan Filler. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS fans. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's cheerleaders. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's cheerleaders. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #13 Devon Barisan scores a touchdown. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #13 Devon Barisan scores a touchdown. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #13 Devon Barisan scores a touchdown. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #13 Devon Barisan. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #1 Montgomery Graham. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #1 Montgomery Graham. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS cheerleaders. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #25 Miguel Torres tries to stop TRHS's #38 Liam Gore. Coming in to help is FHS's #3 Latrell Boddie. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's Athletic Director Craig Antocci talks to a players during the game on the side lines. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #1 Montgomery Graham tries to avoid TRHS #4 Henry Yang. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #1 Montgomery Graham. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #25 Miguel Torres on the side lines after getting a an unsportsmanlike penalty. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #1 Montgomery Graham tries to avoid a tackle by TRHS's #9 Chandler Horne. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #7 Anthony Oquendo. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #7 Anthony Oquendo leads the way for his teammate #1 Montgomery Graham. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS fans. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #9 Donnovan DeLeon celebrates his touchdown with teammate #31 Nico Caputi. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #9 Donnovan DeLeon celebrates his touchdown. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #9 Donnovan DeLeon was wide open n the endzone for their first score of the game. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #9 Donnovan DeLeon was wide open n the endzone for their first score of the game. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #7 Anthony Oquendo. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #7 Anthony Oquendo. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #7 Anthony Oquendo leads the way for his teammate #1 Montgomery Graham as he leaps over TRHS's #11 Casey Robidoux. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #7 Anthony Oquendo leads the way for his teammate #1 Montgomery Graham. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #7 Anthony Oquendo. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Anthony Oquendo and the Fitchburg High football team will welcome Leominster High to Crocker Field on Thanksgiving morning. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. TRHS's #4 Ryan Sears tries to take down FHS's #7 Anthony Oquendo. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. TRHS's #4 Ryan Sears tries to take down FHS's #1 Montgomery Graham. Coming in to help is TRHS's #20 Nathan Winco. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Fitchburg High School football played Tantasqua Regional High School on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019. FHS's #1 Montgomery Graham. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE
Tantasqua improved to 8-2 and advances to the state semifinals, where it will play Plymouth South, the South sectional Division 4 champion, next weekend at a time and place yet to be announced.
The second-seeded Panthers (9-1) beat top-seeded Milton Friday night, 27-22.
Third-year Fitchburg coach Tom DiGeronimo didn’t mince words after the title game came to a close.
“They’re very good, and we weren’t good today. That falls on me,” DiGeronimo said. “Hats off to them. Our kids didn’t quit, and maybe we get a stop down the end there, and who knows what happens? But we hurt ourselves more.
“They’re good, they deserved to win. We’ll lick our wounds and get back to work. (Leominster) is going to be a challenge, it’s going to be a battle.”
Trailing 20-7 at the half, Fitchburg (207 yards) made two big stops on the Warriors in order to keep things close and give the Red Raiders a chance at making it a ballgame. It was something FHS had done with great success over the past month.
That happened with Devon Barisano’s 2-yard TD run two plays into the fourth quarter, as the Red Raiders played solid two-down football in the 10-play, 87-yard drive, with sophomore quarterback Monty Graham finding Bryan Rivera at midfield for a 17-yard completion, before Graham and Barisano had big carries to move the sticks.
Barisano’s TD and Justin Comesana’s PAT pulled FHS to within six, 20-14.
“I knew we were going to come out in the second half with some fight, and it was good to get the stops and get back into the game,” DiGeronimo said. “We just needed one more stop, and (to) see what we could have done with one more (possession).”
But the Warriors were strong on the ground Saturday. While Sears did most of the damage in the first half out of the tailback slot, Tantasqua switched to Gore, the fullback, who had scored the first two TDs of the game.
And with Gore working like a steamroller between the tackles, Tantasqua moved into the red zone.
Sears then scored from 4 yards away to put the capper on the scoreboard. Sears also stepped up defensively on the next series, as he picked off a Graham pass on second-and-15, effectively ending the game.
Fitchburg running back Anthony Oquendo only had one carry in the second half after tweaking his ankle, with the injury keeping him on the bench. In addition, senior defensive back Dylan Araujo wasn’t available.
Tantasqua jumped ahead, 7-0, after the Red Raiders fumbled the opening kickoff, giving the Warriors short field at the FHS 28. And after a successful fourth-down conversion, with Dominic Brown gaining 8 yards to the 15, Tantasqua scored, with Gore plowing in from 5 yards away.
Jarod Spratt’s kick was good.
“The fumble hurt,” DiGeronimo said. “That gave them great field position to start the game. A game like this, we can’t fall behind. But our kids battled back.”
Fitchburg went three-and-out on its first series before Tantasqua embarked on an eight-play, 80-yard drive. Brown ripped off a 50-yard carry on third down to switch the field. After Troy Lee hauled in Dante Reno’s 13-yard pass to convert on fourth down to set up first-and-goal at the 9, Gore went up the middle, slid left, and moved into the end zone for the second Warrior TD.
The Red Raiders then answered with a nine-play, 65-yard scoring drive that saw both Graham and Oquendo do a bulk of the work on the ground.
After Graham carried for 12 yards on third down, Fitchburg scored on second-and-3 from the Warrior 11, as Graham rolled left and, with Donovan Deleon so far behind the Tantasqua secondary he might as well have been in Shrewsbury, fired an 11-yard scoring strike to the sophomore, getting the Red Raiders on the scoreboard.
Comesana’s kick was good, and it was 14-7.
“(Graham) did a very good job,” DiGeronimo said of his quarterback, who carried the ball 14 times for 62 yards, and was 3 of 11 through the air for 41 yards. “We were hyped up, but when he settled down, he did some good things for us.
“Our kids played hard, and at the end of the day, we’re getting a great effort from them, and I’m pleased with that.”
Yet Tantasqua answered immediately, as Sears had all four carries on the drive, including a 44-yard slice from right to left, before he scored from 9 yards away to re-establish the two-touchdown lead. Spratt’s kick failed, making it 20-7.
