Fenwick hopes to be able to play the spoiler

For Bishop Fenwick, tomorrow mornings game at Donaldson Field against Austin Prep brings the opportunity for the Crusaders to spoil AP’s postseason plans.The Cougars come into the game at 7-3 overall and 3-1 in the Catholic Central League/Large. A win and Austin will earn a trip to the postseason against Lynnfield on Tuesday.A loss and the Cougars will see reigning Super Bowl champion Arlington Catholic in position to defend their title.For Fenwick coach David Woods, whose team comes in with a 4-6 record, it would be sweet to spoil Austin’s postseason plans.”I want to see our kids play our best and if they leave everything on the field, they will walk off satisfied,” Woods said.The Crusaders easily could have been playing for a league title themselves as Fenwick lost two of its league games by a combined eight points and were in a battle with AC until late in the fourth quarter.”The CCL had a lot of good teams this year and any one of them could have won the league title,” Woods said.”We could have beat any team on a given day and that was true of any one of the teams in our league.”Fenwick started off slow, losing 19-12 to Saugus before bouncing back with a 6-0 win over Salem on an Alex Crecco touchdown late in the fourth quarter.After losing to Medford, the Crusaders rallied for a 30-0 win over Hamilton-Wenham in a rain delayed game.After losing to Swampscott and besting Georgetown, the Crusaders began league play with a 22-18 loss to Cardinal Spellman in a game that was decided by a couple of missed 2-point conversions.The Crusaders then played AC tough in a 36-20 loss before suffering a heartbreaking 24-20 loss to St. Mary’s on a last minute touchdown. Fenwick rallied in its last game to beat Archbishop Williams 32-28.”We’ve lost a few games where we were right there,” Woods said. “It was the extra points that decided them.”The Crusaders have been bitten hard by the injury bug as they lost Crecco before the St. Mary’s game but senior Nick Corbett has picked up the load to give Fenwick back its powerful running game.”Alex was having a great year until he got hurt but Nick has really come on strong the last few weeks,” Woods said.Pat Lyons and Zach Nardone have also helped bolster the running game with solid play on the line.Fenwick will need that strong play as it goes against an Austin team that is averaging 27.0 points per game under coach Bill Maradei.”I told our team that if they’re going to represent us in the postseason, they’re gonna have to earn it,” Woods said. “They have to prove they deserve to be the league champions.”Woods is also pleased to see how his young team has matured through the season.”Anytime you can be playing your best at the end of the year means they’ve matured from week to week,” Woods said.