Leominster’s offense came out swinging in rivalry tilt

By Sean Sweeney Fitchburg Sentinel
LEOMINSTER — The bus ride home from Westwood two weeks was surely tough for Leominster High junior quarterback Osiris Lopez and the rest of the Blue Devils. The loss came two rounds from the promised land of Gillette Stadium, but Lopez didn’t want to rest on his laurels.
No, they flipped the switch to Fitchburg and Thanksgiving soon after the Devils returned to the Plastics City.
That led to a week and a half of intense focus and work, capped off with Thursday morning’s 46-7 win over the Red and Gray at Historic Doyle Field.
“We took that loss,” Lopez said, “we were sad on the bus ride home, but after that, we came to practice Monday and we got ready for this rivalry. It’s a big game for both cities. It flipped so fast. We got home, went to bed, took the weekend off, and then back to it.”
As LHS head coach Devin Gates explained in the tunnel just around lunch time, it was status quo in the preparation for Fitchburg.
“We prepared the same way we prepared for everyone else; the formula is the formula,” he said. “We’re not going to change that up no matter who we’re playing. We have a way we do things that we feel breeds success no matter the opponent. This past week, we looked at scheme and we prepared for scheme, and do everything we can to execute fundamentally.
“You play the numbers game and the angles game with your guys, and you call the play and go against what they presented.”
What Fitchburg presented initially was man coverage, and Lopez and the Devils’ receiver corps blasted it away with ease: Lopez tossed two TD passes on his first two tosses of the morning. Leominster ran a total of 19 first-half offensive plays that saw six different players score, with Xavier Cora scoring twice.
Jaidis Delgado and Ryan Ricker were the recipients of Lopez’s first two throws of 52 and 57 yards, respectively.
“(Fitchburg) came out and sent a safety down; we went spread with four wide, and they put the safeties over the slots, so I had to trust in my guys. (Delgado and Ricker) made it easy for me. I appreciate those guys,” said Lopez, who went 5 of 7 for 170 yards and three TDs. “The first two drives with the touchdown passes, they were playing man. It was a match-up that I liked, and I let it go. It was barbecue chicken from there.”
“That’s what he does,” Gates said. “We’ve built a playbook over this year and they’ve built a lot of chemistry with the stuff that we do, and we’re very in-tune with each other and what we want to do out there. He’s able to get it done, in any weather.”
The Blue Devils racked up an impressive 325 yards of offense, with 313 of that coming with the first string on the field. As expected, LHS sat the first string and let the younger kids play the running time fourth quarter, their jobs completed.
Leominster offensive coordinator Aaron Canterbury raved about LHS QB1, a player he has had the privilege of mentoring the last three seasons, after the game.
“He makes much better decisions now; physically he’s gotten bigger, stronger, and faster, but his leadership and decision-making has really skyrocketed and it is something I’m proud of,” Canterbury explained. “He’s a blast to coach because I know he’ll do everything the right way.”
Over the course of the past week, Canterbury and Lopez talked a lot about Fitchburg and what to expect.
“Take what’s available, especially with his situation: there will be times when he wants to let his athleticism take over, or take a shot downfield whenever something else is open,” Canterbury said. “But we talk about playing good, clean football, and chasing perfection one play at a time.
“We preach one play at a time, and it’s a lesson we talk to them about life: you take one moment at a time, and you’ll be happy with the outcome in the end.”