Fenwick’s football team put on a show for their fans at their Homecoming game against Notre Dame College Prep.
The Friars (4-1) defeated the Dons 24-13 at Triton College Friday night. While Notre Dame struck first, late in the first quarter on a 2-yard touchdown pass from senior Leo Fraterrigo to senior Evan Diblich to put their team up 6-0, the Friars got their explosive offense going with an 85-yard drive capped off by a 40-yard touchdown pass from senior Marek Hill to junior Emmett Romeus to get Fenwick on the board and take a 7-6 lead with 3:32 to go in the first half. Romeus snared a 45-yard pass from Hill on the previous play to start the Friars’ drive. He finished the evening with a team high nine receptions for 129 yards and the touchdown.
“They executed,” said Friars head coach Matt Battaglia. “We were trying to keep it simple, and when we’re all on the same page and reading it out, we can make those big plays.”
Hill completed 27 of 41 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in Friday’s matchup. Senior wide receiver TJ Smith had three catches for 60 yards and a touchdown, while junior tight end Nate Marshall also caught a touchdown pass. On the ground, senior Luke D’Alise led the Friars with 29 yards on 11 carries while also notching 3 tackles on defense.
“We’ve got a lot of weapons that we work with,” Hill said. “Coach Battaglia does a really good job of showing everyone their strengths and how to use them, and we design plays for that, and the result is we score points and win games.”
On the defensive side, sophomore Tommy Thies led the team with eight tackles while senior Dillon Murphy and sophomore Nate Marshall each recorded a sack. Murphy also had an interception for the Friars to go along with 5.5 tackles.
“Our defense always helps us tremendously,” Hill said. “Guys like D’Alise, Murphy, [senior defensive back] Erik Ferjak, when their number gets called, they’re going to make the play. If it’s not my drive, they come back and give me a chance to get the momentum going and turn things around.”
The Friars need one more win to secure a spot in the state playoffs, and they will take on rival Nazareth on Friday night.
“We just have to win every day against our opponent,” Hill said. “Tonight, we won against our opponent and tomorrow and every day at practice we have to win against Nazareth. We have to take every day one at a time, and I really try to cherish it. That’s how we find ourselves success.”
