In its debut regular season, the Fenwick High School flag football team finished with a 5-7 record. At first glance, it doesn’t look impressive. But both Fenwick co-head coaches, Bryan Boehm and Lenae Fergerson, feel the Friars fared well, given the circumstances.
“We took a group of girls who had never played the sport before, flooded them with information on offense and defense and expected them to execute each game,” Boehm said. “It was a learning experience for everyone involved. We’ve evolved as a team since Day 1 and will continue to do so each season.”
“When you are first starting a program and have many girls who have never played the sport, you really don’t have or know your expectations,” Fergerson said. “Not having the game reps and experience as other schools definitely showed at times, but we showed a lot of great moments. I am extremely happy with how much this team has grown and developed in the little time we’ve had together.”
Juniors Margaret Price and Gianna Pescatore have done well at quarterback. At running back, senior Mia Hernandez had an 80-yard touchdown run on the first possession of Fenwick’s first home game at the Priory, Sept. 14, against Proviso East.
“It’s been a community effort at WR between senior Gabi Gagliano, juniors Addison Boehm, Rosie Nowicki, Elissa Scholtens, D. Smith, and freshman Eleanor Gibson,” Bryan Boehm said. “They’ve all had great games and multiple TDs.”
Centers are an underrated but important part of flag football, and juniors Shalimar Cotto and Grace Masterson have been anchors.
“Defensively, it’s been a group effort this season where they’ve all had big games or picking one another up each game,” Boehm added, citing seniors London Almeida, Eve Rosenburg, Alexa Salzman, and Caroline Skoufis; juniors Gia Delatorre, Val Franco, Stephanie Gonzalez, and Heaven Lee; and sophomore Daija Baynes as the key contributors.
“They’ve given us multiple stops with minimal gains, plenty of takeaways, and numerous pass breakups while adding a swarm mentality,” Boehm said.
Fenwick, the #11 seed in the Lane Tech Sectional, faces North Grand in a regional semifinal at Crane Medical Prep in Chicago, Oct. 10, at 6 p.m. A victory would mean a spot in the regional final, Oct. 12 at 4:30 p.m., likely against the host Cougars, the sectional’s third seed.
“When playoffs come around, you just hope your team is gelling at this moment,” Fergerson said. “I think on any given night we can compete and play with anyone. I think if we trust and execute what we’ve done all year, the sectional can be anyone’s.”
“Being true to who we are and what we do best while being disciplined on defense will be the key to our success,” Boehm said. “If our team shows up focused and ready to execute our game plan, I like our chances.”