FITCHBURG — Last year, Fitchburg junior quarterback, then a sophomore, Monty Graham got his first varsity snaps in a monsoon against Worcester South. A few weeks later, he got some additional snaps against Westboro.
As all young quarterbacks in their first varsity action are, there were some nerves, some missed reads. It happens.
Fast-forward a year, and with a full season under his belt, Graham is just that much better — that much more confident — headed into the Biggest Game of the Year.
The junior signal-caller will lead the Red Raiders onto the historic Crocker Field gridiron for the final time in 2019, and he will look to go up against a Leominster defense that has come along in recent weeks.
Yet while the Blue Devils have done that, so, too, has Graham.
“He’s definitely become more of a dual-threat quarterback now,” Fitchburg head coach Tom DiGeronimo said last Thursday. “You know, he throws the ball better — and again, I think it’s confidence. He’s made some plays, he runs a ball well, he commands our offense. He’s a very intelligent football player, too, so he’s a kid that really improved throughout the course of the year. We’re excited about what he’s been doing.”
Graham said that comes down to confidence in both himself and his linemen.
“I think I’ve gotten more comfortable; at the beginning, I was a little panicked under stress, and I think I’ve been getting more comfortable, standing more in the pocket and doing what I gotta do to help my team,” he said.
During this 2019 season, Graham has developed nicely, forming connections with senior Lattrell Boddie and sophomore Donovan DeLeon. He’s thrown for 371 yards with three TD passes, and has run for four TDs of his own.
“I think our connection has got better and with me to my timing was a little off in the beginning,” Graham explained, “and my timing has got better, much better since the beginning to now.”
He’s also utilized the pocket, moving up into it close to the line of scrimmage, then hopping and firing a strike, but he’s also performed well on the move, even to the right.
And for him to adjust and throw — he’s a southpaw, after all — has flummoxed opposing defensive coordinators this season.
“We talk a lot about a lot about his technique,” said DiGeronimo, himself a former Red Raider quarterback, “and reading defenses and not locking in on receivers, not giving off where he wants to throw the football. He’s become more of a student of the game, and he’s been fun to coach.
“I think his relationship with Donovan and you know obviously Lattrell Boddie, he’s made some plays. Just playing the position, he’s become more comfortable. I think he’s doing a good job picking up the guys that are open, and I think his best football is ahead of him as he keeps improving.”
He’ll face up against the Blue Devil defense that, at one point in 2019, hadn’t allowed a touchdown in six-plus quarters of action.
“I have to look them off, be confident,” he said. “I was studying them this whole week. I’ve been watching a lot of film on them, and preparing for them.”