Fitchburg's Red Raiders are doing something right.

Byline: Fred Sullivan 

The axiom is that you do not remove the king from his throne until the king has been soundly defeated. Therefore, the Brian Vayda-led Warriors of Tantasqua Regional High School have to remain on the top of the T&G's basketball poll as we enter February.

The Division II defending state champions have rolled to a 14-0 record as they seem to be priming themselves for a rematch at WPI against the potent Bernardians of Coach Mark Pierce.

The Warriors have now won close to 40 consecutive contests as they steamroll through the South County. Only a late-season date against an excellent Doherty High five would seem as a barrier for a perfect regular season.

The Warriors are very good, as the faithful of St. Bernard's can truly attest, and Vayda's overall game gives the Warriors a real shot in any contest. But one does have to question their powder-puff schedule.

Next on the T&G poll would have to be the Pioneers of St. John's who have been kicking some serious butt in recent contests.

With David White and John Perron beginning to bank upon the very large presence of one Matt LaBove and younger brother, Chad, the Bob Foley squad seems to have placed itself at the head of the field in Division I.

When March rolls around, the top division in boy's basketball with the likes of Marlboro, Doherty, Wachusett Regional, Leominster and Holy Name could be very interesting. But St. John's, after a rather slow December, seems to be gathering momentum as tourney time approaches, and the history of St. John's and their storied member, Bob Foley, has to make them favorites in D-I, and No. 2 in our Telegram & Gazette poll.

But you may have noticed that I have excluded one basketball team from my analysis of the T&G early February poll.

That would be the Red Raiders of Fitchburg High School. Coach Paul DiGeronimo and his Red and Gray five, or should I say eight or nine, have had quite a week for themselves as they knocked off arch-rival Leominster and Mid-Wach A rival Wachusett Regional in very convincing fashion.

It is that "convincing fashion" which must have gained the attention of Bobby Foley and others because it did get noticed by Steve Dubzinski of LHS and Tom Gibbons of WRHS, who were seriously manhandled by Fitchburg's swarming full court pressure and serious rebounding on both the offensive and defensive backboards.

When you defeat an excellent Blue Devil squad with kids like Tyler Strange and Bobby Goldsby, 81-60, and then come back and slap Wachusett Regional, 71-54, then you are doing something right.

And that has been Fitchburg since their tight loss to its cross-town rival two weeks ago.

Why the renaissance? Number one: Luis Dias Ramos seems to be rapidly rounding into shape after an enforced lay off while his return to FHS was being contested before the MIAA.

Luis will get the Raiders 13 to 15 points a game, but it is the many little things that Luis does on the basketball floor that makes him invaluable for Paul DiGeronimo. He takes up space under the basket at both ends of the court and that allows his teammates to freelance on defense to go for steals because they know Luis has their back.

And Luis gets those second and third rebounds on the offensive boards which gives his teammates more offensive opportunities. The Raiders out-rebounded their opponents and that is mainly because of Luis Ramos.

Number two: Fitchburg truly has a well balanced offense.

Almost every kid that Coach DiGeronimo puts on the court can put the rock through the hoop.

When the Telegram & Gazette Super Team is announced in late March, there will probably be no Raiders on that squad, but just maybe FHS might have a Division I District title.

Kyle Dobson, Harvey Grout and Jeremy Kimber, along with Dias Ramos, can bang down double figures in any contest as they showed in their 81-60 victory over Leominster. But in the very next contest kids like Hamed Akanni, Marcus Early, Adam Vasquez and particularly Orlando Anderson can score those key hoops when they are needed by the Red Raiders.

Young Orlando Anderson could well be one of the North County's most athletic kids.

If you watched the Red and Gray this autumn, you are well aware of Orlando's pass-catching ability. The Jeremy Kimber to Anderson combo was one of the best in Central Massachusetts. But Orlando may very well have been a better defensive back.

With his exceptional speed and innate toughness, Orlando was able to shut down any wide receiver in the region, but he also had a little of Rodney in him. Like the Patriot's No. 37, when Orlando hits opponents they knew that they had been tagged. "Get the number of that truck which rolled over me!" would be a common comment.

Orlando brings that athleticism to the basketball court, and that makes him a good secondary rebounder after Ramos. He can also drive point guards wild when FHS presses.

But he has to be careful of those frequent fouls in tough contests. Coach DiGeronimo's gang needs him in close contests right up to the final buzzer.

Number three: FHS' five is probably the most athletic squad in Division I outside of Doherty High, and their constant pressure will make them tough on future opponents as the post-season approaches.

Paul DiGeronimo's squad can give opponents fits for 32 minutes in every single game as was shown in the recent games against Leominster and Wachusett Regional.

Experience in post-season play could be a problem for the Red and Gray, but a good regular season record might give FHS a home game in the first round.

That would be very helpful to the Raider's hopes.

Weak schedules can sometimes hurt a team's chances in tournament play.

Teams go into the post-season not having been battle-tested against good competition.

But sometimes it can be helpful when a particular seeding can keep you away from a powerhouse squad until the Districts.

That could be happening this year with the Lunenburg girl's basketball squad.

The Blue Knights have been sailing through the rather tepid opposition of Mid-Wach C and they appear capable of getting a two seed in the tourney, so they can avoid mighty Quaboag until the Division III finals.

But the fly in the ointment for that argument could very well be the Hopedale squad which has a terrific 12-1 record, and two outstanding stars in Leika Cowen and Jessica Peacock.

I would hope that Coach Barry Call of Lunenburg has begun to send scouts to the Blue Raiders contests to get a good read on these two 1,000-point scorers.

Don't look toward Quaboag as your only hurdle, Blue Knights, this Hopedale bunch is very good.

They will challenge you, and you'd better be ready.

Finally let's discuss my latest complaint, and remember this comes from a complete nut case regarding the behavior of spectators.

I plead guilty.

About 15 years ago, because Dick Vitale of ESPN and Billy Packer of CBS believed that the only college basketball worthy of any comment was played in the ACC - particularly at Duke and UNC - we had the birth of the Cameron Crazies.

These are Duke students who put on face paint, write obscene signs degrading opponents and jump around crazily for their beloved Dookies, and call themselves fans. Their act was funny for three years. Now it is just repetition.

But because of television, they have been copied by high school kids, unfortunately.

The Brickyard could be funny, but even Coach Doug Grutchfield - who loved the support - had to harshly speak to the denizens of the Brickyard.

This season the Blue Devil fans have been overly rambunctious in yelling comments at opponents like Tim Henault and Luis Dias Ramos.

I believe that the officials stopped the LHS-St. Bernard's contest to warn the LHS faithful.

But the Dawg Pound has to get the "Obnoxious Award" from Sully.

Their snooty chants against FHS players and fans were just plain wiseguy and uncalled for, but their performance against Coach Bobby Foley and St. John's was simply unnecessary.

Get smart, Bernardians, you bring no honor to your school.

Coach Pierce and his players don't need that kind of support.

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) Leominster's Ryan Turbide catches a long pass and puts up two points over Fitchburg's Tralane Whittle during the second period of the game Jan. 22. (2) Fitchburg's Harvey Grout, holding the ball, tries to maneuver around Tyler Strange during the Jan. 22 contest in Leominster.

PHOTOG: ED COLLIER PHOTOS