TYNGSBORO — The No. 3 Bishop Fenwick football team is still rolling deep into the postseason.
The Crusaders put together another excellent all-around game and punched their ticket to the Division 6 North final with a 48-6 win over No. 2 Greater Lowell at Harold O. Bell Jr. Field Friday.
Fenwick’s defense set the tone with three first-half interceptions from Andrew Wilson, Stefano Fabiano and Chrys Wilson and the offense fed off of that momentum.
“It’s a huge boost,” Fenwick coach Dave Woods said. “When you get a turnover or one of the punt returns or kick returns. When the defense or special teams gives the offense a short field it makes it pretty easy.”
The Crusaders had trouble running the ball, but Wilson (8-of-12, 191 yards, four passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown) had a big night through the air.
“You have to give Greater Lowell a ton of credit too,” Woods said. “I know the scores weren’t close, but we haven’t been able to run the ball against them two years in a row. That’s why we had to throw the ball so much because we couldn’t run. It’s hard to take away both but they definitely took away the run from us.”
A 35-yard punt return from Angel Martinez set the Crusaders up with a short field early in the first quarter. David Cifuentes ran in a 1-yard touchdown and drilled the extra point to give Fenwick a 7-0 lead.
On the Crusaders next drive, Wilson connected with Martinez on a 75-yard touchdown pass to get Fenwick out to a 14-0 lead just a few minutes into the game.
The Gryphons responded with a touchdown drive of their own to cut the lead to 14-6 but it was all Fenwick from there.
On their next four defensive drives, the Crusaders intercepted three passes and forced a three-and-out. Fenwick’s offense took full advantage.
Wilson started things off with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Fabiano and later ran in a 12-yard touchdown to give the Crusaders a 28-6 lead.
Next, Cifuentes scored on a 5-yard touchdown catch before Fabiano and Wilson connected again — this time on a 29-yard score — to give Fenwick a 41-6 lead before the half.
Jason Romans capped off the scoring in the second half with a 10-yard touchdown run and the Crusaders defense forced a pair of fumbles to hold on to the 48-6 win.
Now Fenwick shifts its focus to the Division 6 North final, where it will host a familiar foe in No. 4 Stoneham next Friday (6:30). The Crusaders ended last year’s season with a loss at Stoneham in the semifinals and beat the Spartans 35-14 this year in their home opener.
“The winner goes to Gillette Stadium,” Woods said. “I want to say, for the last year since they knocked us out, this has kind of been our focus. We figured to get there we were going to have to go through them again. Now it comes down to one game. Luckily we have it on our home field. Last year we were at their place, this year we’re at home. It’s all or nothing so let’s go, let’s play and lets have fun.”
