Deficit too much to overcome for Fenwick

PEABODY – Seemingly before the game had started it was over. Still, in the face of almost certain defeat, Fenwick played hard to the final whistle in its 43-26 loss to North Reading at Donaldson field Thursday night.Despite a 36-0 halftime deficit, the Crusaders (1-4) put up 26 points in the second half.”I’m proud of the way our guys did not quit tonight,” said Fenwick coach Dave Woods. “They kept fighting and stayed in the game.”Fran Hannon led the second half attack for Fenwick, throwing three touchdown passes and rushing for one additional score. Hannon finished with 202 yards passing and 46 yards on the ground.Two of Hannon’s touchdowns were to Charlie Maestrellis, including a 54-yard pass down the sideline with a little more than a minute remaining in the game. The previous offensive series had culminated in Maestrellis catching a five-yard pass on a quick slant in the end zone.”We have guys here that work hard,” said Woods. “We have to keep up our hard work for next week.”Hannon also completed three passes to Nick Bona for 62 yards and a touchdown. All game, Bona put in good work to get open for Hannon. It was not until the second half when they were able to connect on two passes and Bona’s 12-yard touchdown reception.The first half belonged to Carl Lipani and North Reading. Lipani proved to be the Hornets’ workhorse, rushing for 258 yards and five touchdowns on the night, of which 189 yards and four scores came in the first half.”(Lipani) is a great player that we wanted to try and contain,” said Woods. “We had a hard time with him and were not able to slow him down.”The North Reading (3-2) offense proved to be too much at the start of the game for the young Fenwick defense. Crisp blocking and hard running by Lipani built up a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and the Hornets never looked back. In addition to the well-run offense, Fenwick added to their troubles fumbling three times, though they only turned the ball over once.”That is a tough offense to prepare for, even tougher on a short week,” said Woods.