Fenwick soars past St. Mary’s

LYNN – Saturday night?s Catholic Central League meeting between rivals Bishop Fenwick and St. Mary?s had all the makings of a showdown. From the opening kickoff, however, the visiting Crusaders made it well known where they stand among the upper echelon of Super Bowl contenders, and that?s on top.Behind fantastic performances from quarterback Nick Bona (three touchdown passes) and running back Rufus Rushins (two rushing touchdowns), Fenwick defeated the Spartans, 34-6, to secure the CCL championship. The victory was also the 300th in program history.?I think their main focus coming in was just to beat St. Mary?s,” explained Crusaders coach Dave Woods of the milestone moment. “As it works out, the win was the 300th in our school?s history and gave us the league championship. I?m sure that?s starting to hit them now.”The Crusaders got things rolling on their second drive of the game, as Bona completed four consecutive passes, totaling 51 yards. On a third and 10 from the Spartans? 28, Bona lofted a beautiful, high-arcing pass to the end zone that Eric Razney caught for the score at 3:27. The PAT missed.?I think getting a stop on our first series and then scoring on the next drive really set the tone for us,” said Woods. “St. Mary?s brought it tonight physically for sure; they?re a tough team to play against.”After a three and out for the Spartans, Razney fielded a punt near the Crusaders 30 before blazing down the right sideline to the St. Mary?s 15. Three plays later, Bona connected with Charlie Maistrellis on a 10-yard quick slant to start the second period. Bona hit James Traversey with a successful conversion.The next Fenwick drive lasted all of two plays as Rushins ripped off a 31-yard carry to the Spartans 35 to set up more Bona heroics. On the ensuing play, the senior signal-caller threw a picture-perfect pass to the end zone for a streaking Tommy Parsons.?Nick is certainly a unique individual,” said Woods of his quarterback. “He has a great arm and set of legs and is very valuable on defense as well. He?s only 150 pounds, but you can?t weigh his heart. I?ve never coached a kid quite like him.”Rushins ran in the only score of the third quarter from two yards out to increase the lead to 28 and then added another touchdown at the 9:21 mark of the fourth, a 22-yard scamper. St. Mary?s finally broke the Crusaders? shutout bid at 6:45 on a Jordan Manthorne 58-yard run.?(Our) defense came to play today,” said Woods. “We weren?t expecting the single-wing formation they threw at us but the guys did a good job of adjusting on the fly tonight.”At this rate, it would seem the Crusaders will look at the conclusion of this season as a “Super Bowl or bust” scenario. Regardless of the outcome, however, Woods has enjoyed watching the progress throughout the season.?These guys have impressed me all year long,” Woods explained. “When our seniors were sophomores, we knew we had the makings of a very good team. They have grown and matured, but the biggest thing is their work ethic. This is the type of team we hoped we would have from the beginning.”