Rushins, Fenwick run away with victory

SOUTH HAMILTON – Bishop Fenwick?s early attempts at establishing a passing game against host Hamilton-Wenham on Saturday left the Crusaders in a 20-17 hole by halftime. Luckily for the Crusaders, their running game never missed a beat, leading the visitors to 37 second-half points and a 54-27 win.In the second half, Fenwick (1-0) got 129 combined yards on the ground from quarterback Nick Bona and running back Rufus Rushins, 104 of those coming from the latter. Rushins scored two touchdowns in the half, the first on the Crusaders? opening drive from 62 yards out, to give Fenwick the 24-20 lead.After a Jack Clay touchdown pass to Nolan Wilson restored the Generals? (0-1) lead to three, the visitors responded by scoring 30 unanswered points to end the game.Charlie Maistrellis sapped the hosts? momentum with a kickoff return touchdown on the ensuing play before Bona made a great read to pick off a Clay pass attempt on the ensuing drive. Rushins? second score came at 10:28 of the final quarter from six yards out.After another Clay interception, this time to Kevin Hannon, Bona and Rushins combined to grind the visitors to the two before a field goal from Kyle Russell. Bona connected with James Traversey on a 23-yard score with 5:41 remaining before Robert Carrillo?s five-yard scamper capped the scoring at 2:29.Rushins finished with 175 rushing yards and four touchdowns for Fenwick. Bona ran for 141 yards in the game.?As a team, we made too many mistakes early on, but we have some explosive players who came out and made big plays in the second half,” said Fenwick coach David Woods. “Between Rufus and Nick, the return by Charlie and the two interceptions, we did enough in the end. A win is a win, I guess.”The first 22 minutes were uneventful for Fenwick, as Bona went 0 for 6 on his first drive, which he more than made up for with his legs. Faced with a fourth and 10, Bona lined up as the punter before taking the snap and bursting to the outside for a 33-yard gain.Fenwick opened the scoring on a 21-yard field goal from Russell before two touchdown passes of 64 and 25 yards by Clay left the score at 13-3. Rushins? first of three scores came at 7:09 of the second quarter.The struggles continued for Bona, as he finished the first half just 2-12 for 13 yards and an interception. If not for his ground work (116 first-half rushing yards), as well as Rushins? contributions (71 yards), the Crusaders might have faced a greater halftime deficit than three.?After our passing attack struggled, we started to lean on Rufus and Nick?s legs,” explained Woods. “They both run the ball very well tackle to tackle, so teams can expect to see a lot of that from us this year.”Fenwick will look to make it two wins in a row when it takes on Northeast next weekend.