Sports

BOSTON — With the backdrop of the Green Monster behind them and the splendor of Fenway Park laid out before them, it would have been easy for the Leominster High football team to get caught up in the grandeur of playing at such a historic venue.

A slow start would have been understandable.

But as they have throughout the second half of the 2023 season, the Blue Devils came out ready to play Wednesday night. The end result was a 59-7 drubbing of Fitchburg High in the 117th Thanksgiving meeting of the Twin City rivals.

“We got here early and the energy as soon as we walked in, it kind of caught me off-guard. We immediately snapped into gear and the guys were pretty much dialed in from that point on,” said Leominster head coach Devin Gates, whose team finishes the season 6-5. “They were ready to go and excited for the opportunity. The whole mystique hit us right in the face, but when the game started, they were ready.”

Ready might be an understatement. On Leominster’s first play from scrimmage, Osiris Lopez found Ryan Ricker streaking down the right side for a 72-yard scoring strike. It was one of four TD tosses for Lopez and the first of two to be hauled in by Ricker.

Daniel Thompson’s extra point gave Leominster a 7-0 lead just 19 seconds in.

With the tone set, Leominster took control early. By the end of the first quarter, the lead had grown to 20-0 and expanded to 39-0 by halftime.

“We knew coming in that they were a good team,” Fitchburg head coach Paul DiGeronimo said. “We’re not going to take anything away from them, but our kids played to the best of their abilities and left it all on the field. They had a great experience and we have a lot to build on.”

Leominster’s victory was an exercise in efficiency. Lopez finished the game 9-for-11 passing, throwing for 217 yards and four touchdowns. In addition to Ricker’s two touchdown receptions, Jaidis Delgado hauled in a pair of scoring strikes.

Even more impressively, senior running back Christopher Hatch carried the ball just twice, but found the end zone each time, scoring on runs of 74 and 32 yards.

The Blue Devil defense was equally impressive, holding Fitchburg (0-11) to 179 yards of total offense in the game and scoring a pair of touchdowns of its own. Memi Elias recorded an 87-yard interception to pay dirt in the first quarter before Jaden Jenkins had a pick-six of his own from 46 yards in the third quarter.

The Red Raiders got on the scoreboard in the third quarter, briefly cutting the Leominster lead to 30-7. A long pass from Lucas Beaulac to Richard Salomon put Fitchburg at the LHS two and two plays later, Shea Gonynor punched in a 1-yard yard run.

Melvin De Leon booted the PAT try through the uprights for the Red Raiders.

On the night, Beaulac was Fitchburg’s most productive offensive player tallying 82 yards on 20 carries. The senior also caught a pair of passes and was 1-for-1 passing for 42 yards through the air.

The Blue Devils capped the scoring in the final minute as senior Kaiden Calderon closed out a long drive with a 1-yard run. With time running, no extra point was attempted following Calderon’s touchdown.

In 1994, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder sang the following lines on the song “Corduroy” off the band’s third album, “Vitalogy”: “The waiting drove me mad. You’re finally here and I’m a mess.”

He may very well have been describing the build toward Wednesday night’s rivalry tilt between Leominster High (5-5) and Fitchburg High (0-10) at Fenway Park. The anticipation has been growing for over a month now and with rain in the forecast throughout the day, the grass of Fenway could very well be the aforementioned mess.

Field conditions will do nothing to sully the emotions of the rivalry, going strong for 129 years. And this 117th Thanksgiving Classic is already a unique entry into the history books, regardless out the contest’s outcome, simply because of the venue in which it will be played.

“We’re excited for the entire experience. We worked on the Xs and Os this week and we talked logistics on Monday,” Leominster head coach Devin Gates said. “Where we’re getting ready, what to expect when we get (to Fenway). … All that stuff will work itself out and it should be a pretty cool experience.”

Fitchburg will be the home team in a contest taking place some 40 miles from its home field, agreeing with its archrival to add a new venue to a historic series previously played only on fields in the Twin Cities.

“I think they’re all very excited to be playing at Fenway,” Fitchburg head coach Paul DiGeronimo said. “From the first time it was presented to our team, it was a unanimous yes. From the seniors playing their last Thanksgiving game to the freshmen playing in their first, it was something we wanted to be a part of.”

The opportunity to play at Fenway was presented to both programs months ago, with the idea of giving one of the state’s most storied rivalries a chance to shine on a grand stage. With road work on Main Street and River Street continuing to limit access to Crocker Field, the decision to play at Fenway was a fairly easy one, according to administrators from both schools.

And though some fans opposed the relocation at first, it seems as though minds have shifted. Fitchburg alone is slated to send 11 buses of spectators to the game, showing a softened resistance to the temporary move.

For those not making the trip to Boston, both Leominster TV and Fitchburg Access TV will be broadcasting and streaming the contest.

Afforded the unique opportunity to play at the country’s oldest operating Major League ballpark, both coaches hope their teams will embrace the history they’re making while giving their all once the game kicks off.

“I think we’ll be ready for it. We talk about being in the moment a lot. In that play, in that rep. … These kids have good heads on their shoulders,” Gates said. “At the same time, I want them to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I want them to soak in when we’re warming up, but also be ready to go.”

The wait is almost over. Let the fun begin.