Falcons hope to turn back clock with Haverty
Courtesy of John Conceision, Telegram & Gazette
While Fitchburg State football isn’t known for a long
winning tradition, the players well know how the school’s
victorious chapters were written.
Though the Falcons have won only three games over the past two
seasons, they know coach Pat Haverty’s teams won 60 percent
of their games from 2002-06 and played in two ECAC bowls.
“Just the other day, we were watching the highlight tapes
from those years,” said Jesus Moore, a senior defensive
lineman and captain. “That’s what we strive for,
that’s where we want to be.
“Maybe not this year or next year, but down the road. Or
maybe it could be this year or next year. We know it’s
possible here because he’s done it before.”
Haverty’s second tour at Fitchburg started last July, so
things were thrown together at the last minute last season when the
Falcons finished 2-8.
There are some key losses to overcome — among them wide
receivers Jeremy Kimber of Fitchburg and Carlos De La Rosa,
linebacker Anthony Bizzotto of Leominster, and defensive backs
Chris Rose, Mike Vaughn and Sean Golden. But Haverty notes that
progress continues to be made.
“We’re definitely ahead of last year and we’re
definitely behind where I want to be,” said Haverty, who
assembled a recruiting class of 62 newcomers. “We’re
improved from last year but we’re still a long way off from
where we have to be.”
There’s a healthy competition at quarterback where freshman
Christian Lopez is pushing sophomore Brian McDonald, the incumbent,
for the starting job. McDonald also is expected to take over the
punting chores.
Former Fitchburg High standout Steph’fon Teague rushed for
nearly 500 yards as a freshman, and junior ends Brian Wallace and
Anthony Brooks (Quabbin Regional) hope to fill the voids left by
Kimber and De La Rosa, who combined for 65 of the team’s 96
receptions last year.
Juniors Dan Della-Giustina and Pat Johnson are back to anchor the
offensive line, where Haverty hopes several newcomers blend
in.
Much of the team’s leadership comes from the defensive line
in senior captains Moore and Bob Booth, along with seniors Andrew
Lizotte and Mark Millett.
Bizzotto led the team in tackles for his last two seasons at
linebacker.
“I thought he was one of the best defensive players in the
conference,” Haverty said. “That alone is a huge, huge
loss, and our job is to find that next mike linebacker that’s
going to take over.”
Stepping up could be junior Joe Sasso, the Falcons’
second-leading tackler last fall. “He’s taking charge,
he really trained harder than he has ever trained,” Haverty
said. “Having Joe there is going to help our younger
guys.
“We’ve got a whole new secondary pretty much,”
the coach added. “We may be vulnerable to the pass, so
we’re going to have to shore that up.”
At 5-foot-3, Luis Cruz, now a senior, filled in for an injured
Taron Seaforth and contributed 32 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble
and a fumble recovery. Seaforth remains in the picture as a
sophomore.
“We’re trying every combination to see who’s
going to be in our secondary,” Haverty said.
“We’re still waiting to see how that
emerges.”
The preseason poll places the Falcons last in the New England
Football Conference’s Bogan Division.
“Everybody asks me how I feel about those polls — we
didn’t do anything to deserve anything higher last
year,” Haverty said. “They don’t give away
rankings, they put you where you deserve to be. We did nothing to
deserve any higher, and our job is to try to show them that next
year’s poll, hopefully, we can be higher.”
“That’s why they call it a preseason poll,”
Booth said. “It really doesn’t matter what you’re
ranked before the season. It matters where you’re ranked
after the season. We’re going to put our best foot forward,
and we’ll do what we have to do to win.”
“We love to be the underdog, no one expects anything,”
Moore said. “I think we’re going to surprise a lot of
people and they’re going to have to start respecting
us.”
Fitchburg State at a glance
Coach: Pat Haverty (seventh season,
32-28).
League: New England Football Conference,
Bogan Division.
2011 record: 2-8, 1-7 conference.
Top returnees: So. QB Brian McDonald
(77-188, 807 yards, 5 TDs, 12 INTs), So. RB Steph’fon Teague
(Fitchburg; 133 carries, 485 yards, 3 TDs), Jr. LB Joe Sasso (54
tackles, 4-1/2 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries), Sr. DL Jesus Moore
(37 tackles, 6 for loss), Jr. C Pat Johnson, Jr. OL Dan
Della-Giustina.
Key losses: LB Anthony Bizzotto (Leominster;
106 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 INT), WR Jeremy Kimber (Fitchburg; 38
catches, 530 yards, 4 TDs), WR Carlos De La Rosa (27 catches, 218
yards).
Notable newcomers: Fr. QB Christian Lopez,
Fr. RB Luis Felix (Clinton).
Schedule:
Aug. 31…at Becker, 6 p.m.
Sept. 8…Curry, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 15…Salve Regina, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 22…Maine Maritime, noon
Sept. 29…at Coast Guard, 1 p.m.
Oct. 6…Framingham State, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 13…at Mass. Maritime, noon
Oct. 20…Bridgewater State, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 27…at Worcester State, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 3…at Westfield State, noon