PEABODY — Over the past few seasons, the Bishop Fenwick and Stoneham football teams have built a rivalry. The Crusaders and Spartans will write the newest chapter of that rivalry Friday night when they meet in the Division 6 North final.
“Stoneham plays in an unbelievably tough Middlesex League,” Fenwick coach Dave Woods said. “They’re just used to playing tough teams. Since (coach) Bobby Almeida took over they’ve done a good job building up from the youth program. They’ve developed some great kids. They’ve just done a great job building a good football program.”
Stoneham stopped Fenwick short of its ultimate goal last season, when the Spartans bumped the Crusaders out of Division 6 North in the semifinal. Fenwick hosted No. 4 Stoneham for its season opener in September — a 35-14 Crusaders win.
“This is kind of the rubber match,” Woods, a former Stoneham football captain and coach, said. “They’re in the North final for the fifth year in a row so they’re the team to beat. They went on to win the (Division 6) Super Bowl last year. Until someone can knock them out, they’re the champs.”
Fenwick, 8-1, has allowed just six points in two postseason games.
“Our defense is our strength overall,” Woods said. “We’ve been playing good team defense. Kids control their position and play their role. Facing the double-wing, we’re lucky that St. Mary’s and Austin Prep run it so we’ve seen it twice a year. As coaches we have a grasp on what works. Executing it is totally different. The kids have done a good job buying into their jobs.”
And the offense has done its part too. The No. 3 Crusaders routed No. 6 Ipswich 55-0 in the tournament opener and coasted past No. 2 Greater Lowell in a 48-6 semifinal rout.
“I think we’ve taken what the defense gives us,” Woods said. “Last week they crowded the box and we threw all over the place. The week before that we ran it a little bit more. If the defense takes away the run, we throw it more. If the defense takes away the pass, we run it more. We’re lucky we have a quarterback that can make plays. A lot of teams have one or two receivers you can take away, we’re lucky that we have fix or six and it’s hard to take anybody away.”
Running back David Cifuentes, an Item All-Star last season, carried the offense at the start of the year. But quarterback Chrys Wilson, who split time under center with Jason Romans when the season started, is proving Fenwick’s passing attack’s equally effective. Wilson tossed four touchdown passes last Friday at Greater Lowell.
“Early on we were alternating Chrys and Jason at quarterback,” Wilson said. “We settled on Chrys for a number of reasons. He understands what defenses do. We’ve had times during the year where we call a pass play and he checks out of it into a run. It’s nice to have that as a coach. If I make the wrong play call he can correct it at the line of scrimmage sometimes.”
With a win Friday night, Fenwick will punch its ticket to the Division 6 state final at Gillette Stadium (Division 6 North has a bye in the state semifinal this year). The Crusaders last set foot on Gillette’s turf back in 2013, when they won the Division 5 state championship.
“It’s hard not to (think about it),” Woods said. “Obviously that’s been the kids’ goal. We know we’re one win away. It’s really not a distraction, we use it as motivation. We know the winner of this game goes to Gillette. That’s what we’ve worked toward for the past year. It’s what the kids use as motivation.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Fenwick’s Steven E. Donaldson Stadium.
