PEABODY — High school sports are full of surprises and challenges. Injuries are a part of nearly every sport, and sometimes it all comes down to who has the ability to be the next man up.
At 2-1, the Fenwick football team’s off and running this year as the Crusaders seek to turn things around after a disappointing 2017 season.
The surprise of the season so far has been Chrys Wilson’s ability to step in for injured starting quarterback Cory Bright.
Bright has battled through injuries for much of his career. He entered the season healthy, but went down in the Crusaders’ 28-0 opening night win over Hamilton-Wenham. Bright has been sidelined every since.
Enter Wilson, who not only has picked up where Bright left off, but has taken the position to a new level. In three games, Wilson has completed 45-of-73 pass attempts for 583 yards with four touchdowns. But there’s a lot more to Wilson than just offense.
“He’s also our starting linebacker and has played outstanding on defense,” said Fenwick coach Dave Woods. “He’s on all of our special teams and rarely comes off the field. This is a lot to put on a sophomore, but Chrys is mature well beyond his years. The best way to describe Chris is to say that he is a winner.
“He does everything right, not to say he is perfect, but he does everything you want your quarterback to do,” Woods added. “He has a tremendous work ethic, he prepares by working hard, watching film and taking coaching.”
While Wilson may be front and center in Fenwick’s early success, Woods says he has had a little help from his friends.
“It helps that we have so many great receivers with Stefano Fabiano, George Fiskatoris, Keegan O’Connor, Derek Delvecchio, David Cifuentes, Joe Rivers, Jake Connolly, Jordan Maurice, Jake Miano and Angel Martinez,” Woods said. “It’s not a stretch to say that any one of them could be the main weapon in anyone’s offense. The great thing is they don’t care who gets the ball, they all just want to win.”
Woods said none of these players would be enjoying the success they have had this year without a strong offensive line in front of them.
“None of this works of course without Tom MacDonald, Ian Connor, Matt Juneau, TJ Hazard and Jimmy Espinal,” said Woods. “They are improving every day. We grade the o-line every week and talk about getting everyone to grade above 80%. Against Pentucket our lowest o-line grade was 83%, so when you can do that you will have a lot of success on offense. We only ran 36 offensive plays and had 427 yards of offense, that’s a pretty good day for the o-line.”
Wilson’s quick to agree.
“Anything I’ve done is because of Cory’s nurturing and the way he has taken such a leadership role with all of us,” said Wilson. “If I’ve been successful, it’s due to Cory and the offensive line and the way we can spread the love around to nine or 10 guys. The only times I’ve even been touched or sacked has been my fault when I should’ve gotten rid of the ball. Those guys deserve all the credit.”
Wilson’s ascent, along with the development of a third quarterback in freshman Jason Romans, who threw the first touchdown pass of his career against Hamilton-Wenham, gives the Crusaders depth at the position.
“Jason has only had a few opportunities to play this year, but when he has played he has excelled,” Woods said. “He soaks in a lot by watching both Cory and Chrys, and Jason’s talent and potential is unlimited. We feel very confident in all three of these young men, so we are very fortunate to have three outstanding kids at such a key position.
“All that being said Cory is our QB, so when he is healthy and ready to play, he will be on the field, hopefully very soon,” said Woods. “Chrys and the whole team understands that. Cory’s one of the most special players we’ve ever had at this school. There aren’t too many young men who could deal with all of the adversity that Cory has dealt with, in the positive manner that he has. He has been our leader for the past four seasons and he will continue to be.”
And that’s just fine with all three quarterbacks.
“When Cory went down, all I could think of was ‘oh, no,’. We all know how important he is to the success of our team,” said Romans. “But we knew Chrys was ready to go and I also got my chance, but wouldn’t have been able to perform without the help from both those buys at practice.”
While Bright hopes to return in the near future, he understands one thing – it’s all about the winning formula.
“Chrys and I have talked about it a lot and we both agree that whatever it takes to win, whoever’s getting the job done should play,” Bright said. “Whether it’s Chrys or whether it’s me, whoever can help us win is the one who should be on the field, and I’m absolutely buying into that.”
The Crusaders host Arlington Catholic Friday night (7).
