PEABODY — Bishop Fenwick football is looking to build off the success of last year to propel itself to Gillette for a championship game appearance.
The Crusaders had an unbelievable season last year, finishing (9-3) before they were bounced in the semifinals of the Division 5 playoffs against eventual champion Swampscott.
“I think last year — it is kind of funny we probably overachieved a little bit. I do not think we were expecting to have that good of a season, and I am not sure other people were expecting us to have that good of a season either, but we did have some seniors last year that really stepped up and had huge years for us,” said Head Coach David Woods.
While some seniors stepped up for the Crusaders last year, some underclassmen played and played well, which will help set the groundwork for Bishop Fenwick to achieve its goals.
“We also had a lot of underclassmen that played last year. Our goal is — like every year — is to get to Gillette and play in the state final. Last year we were one game away, so that has been some motivation in the offseason — the kids we had last year really paved the way; they showed us what you have to do to win games and to put yourself in that position,” said Woods.
“We are excited about the year, and the kids are excited for sure,” he added.
In order to eclipse last season’s performance, the Crusaders have some big shoes to fill, especially at quarterback. Former quarterback Steven Woods was an unbelievable player for Bishop Fenwick and broke 11 school records.
“Steven had a phenomenal season, broke all kinds of school records, threw 30 touchdowns and only four INTs, and as well as he played on offense, he was probably even more valuable on defense as our strong safety,” said Woods.
While it will be a tall task to replace such a dominant force at quarterback, Woods is confident in his upcoming starter, junior Bryce Leaman.
“So replacing him [Woods] is very tough, but our quarterback this year is Bryce Leaman. Bryce is a junior and has been our JV quarterback for the last two years — his freshman and sophomore year, and he has worked so hard in the offseason and has looked phenomenal so far in the early going,” said Woods.
“I think him [Leaman] playing for two years under Steven and kind of learning the system and watching what Steven did was a big advantage for him, so we are expecting him really to step in and really have a great season,” he continued.
Not only will the Crusaders be replacing their signal-caller, but they will replace his favorite target in Jason Romans, who broke a ton of records with Woods.
“Jason Romans was a receiver, so along with all the records Steven broke, Jason broke a bunch more as a receiver too,” said Woods. As for who will try and fill Romans’ shoes, look no further than two-year starter Costa Beechin.
“We have another kid Costa Beechin this year who played receiver last year also and now is probably going to take on more of that role Jason had last year,” said Woods.
“He [Beechin] has a great skill set; he is big, strong, fast — he is definitely a matchup problem for a lot of schools. We are going to move him everywhere from split-end to slot-back to tail-back, and we will use him a lot,” he added.
On the defensive side of the ball, Bishop Fenwick will be trying to plug a massive hole in the middle with the departure of Chris Faraca, who unbelievably led the team in tackles from the defensive tackle position. Faraca was also big on offense as he played slot receiver.
Heading into the 2022 campaign, Woods was pleased with his team’s ability to play clean football, avoiding turnovers last year, and hopes it will carry over into this season. However, one thing he and his team will be focusing on to improve is the play at the second level, especially at the linebacker position.
“Last year, we were very young at the linebacker position — we had a lot of guys get some experience there, but we sometimes struggled there at the linebacker position — our defensive tackle was our leading tackler, and next after that were guys in our secondary,” said Woods.
“Our linebackers really should be our leading tacklers, and this year we have a lot of linebackers that got some experience last year, and they will probably be the strength of our defense this year,” he added.
With two weeks remaining until the Crusaders open up the regular season at home against Norton High School on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. Woods is happy with how his team has practiced thus far.
“From a coaching standpoint, we could not be more happy — the kids have given an absolutely great effort,” said Woods.
Michael Coughlin Jr. can be reached at [email protected].
