PEABODY — The Bishop Fenwick football team put together an all-around dominant performance to earn a 28-0 win over Hamilton-Wenham Friday night at Donaldson Field.
Quarterback Chrys Wilson led the Crusaders’ offense, coming in after an injury to senior starter Cory Bright on the first drive of the game. Wilson completed 12 of 14 passes for 155 yards and 1 touchdown and also added a 4-yard TD run. Derek DelVecchio caught 3 passes for 28 yards and a touchdown while running back David Cifuentes added a 1-yard touchdown run on the ground.
Freshman quarterback Jason Romans also added a touchdown pass, caught by Jordan Maurice, in the 4th quarter.
“It was a great overall team effort,” Fenwick coach Dave Woods, who earned his 150th career victory with the win, said. “We had a lot of guys step up and make big plays on both sides of the ball tonight.
“Chrys is a winner,” Woods added. “He played the whole game at linebacker and quarterback and he took some hits but he’s a tough kid and he’s a winner. It’s great to a have a kid like that and for him to be able to come off the bench and jump right in like he did.”
Woods and the Crusaders hope that an opening game shutout against a Generals team they struggled against last season can set the tone for the rest of the year on defense.
“It’s big,” Woods said. “Last year they shut us out and our defense struggled. We hope this sets the tone for us going forward.
“That’s a real good tandem in Billy Whelan (quarterback) and Ian Coffey (running back) for Hamilton-Wenham,” Woods added. “That’s a pretty good team and a great overall win for us, a gritty win.”
On Bishop Fenwick’s 2nd drive of the game, Wilson connected with wide receiver George Fiskatoris for a 23-yard completion to set up 1st-and-goal for the Crusaders. One play later, Wilson scored on a run up the middle to put Fenwick up 7-0 after a successful extra point by Cifuentes.
Before the end of the first half the Crusaders found the end zone again. Wilson connected on 5 of his 6 passes on the drive before hitting DelVecchio on a slant route for a 9-yard touchdown with 31 seconds left in the half.
“At halftime, the kids were great and they were fired up,” Woods said. “They knew it was only one half, and they came out and played some intense defense and had some big hits in the second half between Joe Rivers and Keegan O’Connor.
“I thought all of our captains really stepped up at halftime and rallied the team,” Woods added. “It was fun to watch them play defense in the second half.”
The Crusaders added to their lead on their 1st drive of the 3rd quarter. The drive was highlighted by a 42-yard catch and run by Rivers up the seam. Cifuentes capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run and a successful extra point to put Fenwick up 21-0.
With the game well in hand, Romans came in to finish the game for the Crusaders at quarterback. Romans added a 10 yard touchdown pass to Maurice and DelVecchio got an interception on defense to seal the 28-0 win for Bishop Fenwick.
The Crusaders visit Dedham next Friday (7).
