Fenwick football all-in on the 2024 season 

With strong senior leadership, an effort to build a buy-in culture and talent on both ends of the field, the Fenwick Friars are hungry for the start of the 2024 football season. 

Last Friday night, there was a buzz in the air as the players and staff were getting ready for their varsity intrasquad scrimmage. 

“After the scrimmage tonight, I think the players are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. This is what they have been training for the last nine to 10 months,” said Matthew Battalgia, Fenwick’s head football coach. “Tonight gave them that taste, so they are as hungry as ever to strap it up and play a big game week one against a local rival.” 

Battaglia emphasized that he was proud of how the team has come together and developed a strong culture. The Friars seem ready to tackle all of their Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic Conference opponents. 

Where is this hunger and drive coming from? That can all be traced back to last year, said Battalgia. 

At the beginning of the 2023 season, Fenwick put together a good string of games and had a record of 4-1. Things were looking good until a string of injuries and bad breaks killed their momentum. The Friars dropped their last four games and ended up missing the state playoffs. 

It was a tough lesson to learn, but that disappointing end only served to invigorate the team. “I felt that one of the areas we really struggled the last two years was with buy-in from the overall majority of the team,” said Battaglia. “But this past year was the most buy-in we’ve had in the weight room, and you can see it in their physical development.” 

That serves the Friar’s physical brand of football in a very tough conference. With a good receiving core, solid defense and a great group of senior leadership, including one of the state’s top players in defensive and tight end Nathaniel Marshall, who recently changed his commitment to Auburn, Fenwick is looking like a formidable team. 

The only problem hanging over the team is its quarterback situation. After last year’s quarterback Marek Hill, now at Amherst College, graduated, that left an open question as to who would fill the role. Enter senior Frankie Hosty, last year’s backup quarterback, and junior Jamen Williams. Both are now competing for the position in a neck and neck battle. 

Although some would point to the football adage, “if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have a quarterback,” Battaglia doesn’t see this as a weakness. He sees this as a great strength. Both have been performing well in camp, and he says the team is fortunate to have so much talent ready to fill important roles for the Friars. 

With game one fast approaching, Fenwick has a challenging schedule ahead of them. Six of their upcoming opponents made last year’s state playoffs, including Class 7A champion Mount Carmel. 

But Fenwick isn’t letting the pressure get to them, and they are ready to prove themselves. Their goal is to take one game at a time, stay healthy and keep preparing. 

“This squad has experienced a lot of the let downs of playing a tough team sport like football, and they’ve really learned from that. That past experience has made them have more passion for the daily grind,” said Battaglia. “Our goal is to get better everyday. And if we do that we’re giving ourselves the best chance possible to achieve the ultimate goal of winning a state title.” 

The Friars are set to start the season when they go across town to take on the Oak Park and River Forest High School Huskies at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday Aug. 31 at OPRF.  

2024 Fenwick schedule