Fenwick holds on to defeat Williams

PEABODY – Midway through the fourth quarter, it seemed Bishop Fenwick was going to cruise to an easy victory over visiting Archbishop Williams. However, the Bishops made a late run, forcing the Crusaders to fight to hold on to a 32-28 win at Donaldson Field in Peabody on Friday.With roughly 7:30 remaining in the game, Fenwick running back Nick Corbett eclipsed the century mark on a 44-yard touchdown run. The score was Corbett’s second of the game and put Fenwick (4-5) up 32-14.The ensuing deep kickoff, a departure from the onside kicks Fenwick had been executing all game, bounced and skidded at the two-yard line of Williams, where Alex Furtado fielded the ball. Moments later, Furtado was in the open field en route to a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to make it 32-22. While Fenwick was able to melt some clock away using a grinding ground attack, it failed to convert a first down at midfield.Three plays later, Elvin Souffrant found the end zone for Williams, bringing the Bishops to within four points at 32-28 with 2:58 remaining in the game. Again, Fenwick’s ground game pounded out yards, but Williams still found itself with possession at its 24 with nine seconds remaining. It was only after Fenwick was able to knock down a Hail Mary attempt and record a sack were the Crusaders able to finally claim the victory.”We always have to make it a little interesting,” said Fenwick coach David Woods. “We can never just make it easy.”For the game, Fenwick’s ground attack chewed up the field. Corbett led the way, finishing with 121 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries.”(Corbett’s) yards were hard-fought yards all the way,” said Woods. “We are limited in what we can do, and our strength is our offensive line, to pound it tackle to tackle, and that is what we’re going to do. I though (Corbett) did a great job and the offensive line did a great job.”Sparkplug Chris Renzulli was able to put together 82 electric yards and a touchdown. Fenwick also found great success in the second half with quarterback Brett Kidik running the option. Kidik finished with 46 yards on the ground and proved he could keep the Williams defense on its heels.”Renzulli will always give you everything that he’s got and Kidik did a great job running the ball today,” said Woods. “We ran the option early and noticed they had two guys on Renzulli. I told Kidik to make sure to read the play, but look to run it and run up inside. It started to work, and I’m a big believer in sticking with what works.”In the first half, Fenwick capitalized on a fumble recovery by Colby Pollison. Corbett’s first touchdown put the Crusaders ahead 8-6. After scoring, Fenwick recovered an onside kick to give it possession once again. Twelve plays later, Corbett once again found the end zone, helping Fenwick to a 16-14 halftime lead.