Friars are fired up for football  

In Matt Battaglia’s time as head coach of the Fenwick High School football team, he has established the Friars as one of the Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic Conference’s top programs. 

Despite the losses of key players such as Nathaniel Marshall and Jack Paris to graduation, with 13 returnees from last year’s team that went 8-3 and lost at Downers Grove North in an IHSA Class 7A second-round playoff game on a field goal as time expired, Battaglia and his players feel Fenwick should once again be highly competitive. 

“This group has a lot of shared experience; many of these players have been competing together for years and have already enjoyed great success,” said Battaglia, in his sixth season. “What really stands out is their consistency: they show up every day, put in the work, and focus on finding ways to improve.” 

Last season’s team saw Marshall (University of Michigan) and Paris (University of Illinois) sign with major university programs. This year’s squad already has two NCAA Division I commits: senior kicker/punter Noah Sur (Northwestern University) and senior defensive back Tommy Thies (Miami of Ohio), son of Fenwick athletic director Scott Thies. 

Tommy Thies believes Fenwick is ready to answer those who think the team will be down this fall. 

“I feel we’ve had a great summer, it’s been very competitive,” he said. “We’re really looking forward to playing this Friday.” 

Thies’ brother Jake, a junior defensive back, already has several Division I offers, as does junior defensive back Josh Morgan. Other defensive returnees include senior tackle Luke Leone, senior linebacker Michael Murphy, and senior defensive back Aiden Williams. 

Fenwick returns six offensive starters: junior lineman Kam Rutlin; senior linemen Adam Calicdan and Logan Schultz; senior receivers Myles Montgomery and Raphiel Stewart; and senior quarterback Jamen Williams, who missed most of the second half of last year due to a leg injury. 

“I’m feeling great,” Williams said. “I’ve been blessed to get back healthy as soon as I did, and I’m ready to finish what I started It was really eating at me, not playing. But I’m just excited for this season.” 

Other returnees with experience are senior offensive linemen Vince Fagiolo and Connor Wahl; senior receivers CJ Garrett and Will Tomczak; senior defensive lineman Zeke Mbewe; senior linebackers Liam Cahill and Duffy Monahan, and senior defensive back Odin Ferjak. Top varsity newcomers are junior running back/defensive back Rocco Nero; junior offensive linemen Charlie Becker and Jack Woods; junior receiver/cornerback Jimmy Watts; and junior tight end/defensive lineman Jimmy Bonakdar. 

Fenwick usually plays a tough schedule, and this year is no exception. The Friars open up with a challenging four-game stretch beginning at DePaul Prep, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. The Rams won last season’s Class 4A title.  

Fenwick then welcomes Oak Park and River Forest High School to Triton College for the East Avenue Showdown, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. That’s followed by a home game, Joliet Catholic, and a road contest at Class 3A champion Montini Catholic.  

“It’s part of playing in (the CCL/ESCC),” Thies said. “If you don’t come ready to play, you’re going to lose by a lot; if you come ready, you’re going to win by a lot. It’s a fun conference; there are no cupcakes.” 

Battaglia and the players don’t mention specific goals for this season. Still, they know there are internal expectations that need to be met, and if that happens, things will take care of themselves. 

“Our focus isn’t on predicting a title race, it’s on making sure Fenwick football gets better every single day,” Battaglia said, “because that’s how we give ourselves the best chance to reach our team goals.” 

“Offensively, we’re trying to score and have a lot more big-play execution,” Williams said. “We lacked that last year and need to get better. I want to make sure I do whatever I can to help our team get in the best position to win games.”