There was a feeling of excitement in the air at Triton College Sept. 5 as the Oak Park and River Forest High School and Fenwick football teams met with each having impressive victories in the season opener the previous week.
While the Huskies are young and hungry for success, the Friars have the more seasoned team and used their experience to pull away for a 35-0 victory. It is the second consecutive shutout by Fenwick over OPRF.
“It feels good, no doubt about it,” said Fenwick coach Matt Battaglia of the back-to-back whitewashes. “We’ve got a lot of guys who’ve put in hard work since January and it really shows the leadership of the senior group to pull up the juniors and get them to the standard.”
“This is my last year playing these guys,” said Fenwick quarterback Jamen Williams, “and it feels really good to win.”
OPRF coach John Hoerster liked the effort his team showed but was also disappointed with the inconsistency of the play execution.
“At the end of the day, I thought our defense played brilliant. But our offense just couldn’t finish drives,” he said. “(Fenwick’s) defense did a really nice job against us.”
Things started in a promising way for OPRF (1-1) when on the game’s first scrimmage play, AJ Porter hit Niko Vielehr for a 29-yard gain to midfield. But after Liam Smith (18 carries, 77 yards) got another first down, Porter was intercepted by Liam Cahill, who returned the ball to the Fenwick 49.
Fenwick (2-0) cashed in two plays later when Williams (16-of-24, 187 yards) found a wide-open Jimmy Watts (two receptions, 52 yards) down the left side for a 46-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead at 8:54 of the first quarter.
“Our DB slipped, and they caught us,” Hoerster said of the score.
With about three minutes left in the half, Williams threw his second touchdown pass, a 15-yarder to Jake Thies, to give the Friars a 14-0 lead at halftime.
As the game progressed, Fenwick began to assert control over both lines of scrimmage. The OPRF offense struggled to move the ball, and conversely the Friars started to wear down the Huskies’ defensive front.
This was exemplified by the opening possession of the second half as Fenwick chewed up a little over six minutes and capped things with a one-yard QB sneak by Williams.
“We needed a real big score,” Williams said. “Once we got it, the defense took care of the rest.”
“(Fenwick’s) offensive line is big and physical,” Hoerster said. “The Thies brothers (Jake and Tommy) are good athletes, and (Williams) is a good athlete who made some really good throws. Hat’s off to them, they did a really nice job.”
With about seven minutes left in the contest, OPRF punt returner Logan Gathman committed a muff, and the ball was recovered by Fenwick lineman Mike Murphy at the Huskies’ 44. Then Fenwick backup running back Rocco Nero ripped off a 41- yard run down to the 3, from where he scored on the next play to give the Friars a 28-0 lead.
With 3:15 left, Fenwick put the icing on the cake as Aiden Williams hit a scrambling Porter, jarring the ball loose. Tommy Thies picked up the ball and ran 45 yards to the house for the game’s final scoring.
“We preach 11 guys to the ball every single day, fly around and make plays,” said Murphy of the Friars’ stout defense. “Aiden came all the way from the other side of the field to make the play. It was awesome.”
Jake Thies ended the night with 50 yards on 11 carries and 23 yards on three catches and added a 33-yard interception return. Moreover, Fenwick got receiving help from Will Tomczak (three catches, 44 yards), Cameron Garrett (two catches, 30 yards), and Josh Morgan (two catches, 24 yards). It was welcomed by Williams, given that Myles Montgomery is out for the year with an ACL injury.
“All my receivers did amazing,” Williams said. “That’s why we work so hard. When people go down, others need to be ready.”
Both Fenwick and OPRF are at home this week, with each game kicking off at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 12. The Friars welcome Joliet Catholic to Triton while the Huskies face Glenbard West at Oak Park Stadium.
“We’ve got a bad taste in our mouths from last year (14-13 loss), so we’ll be ready,” Murphy said.
“It’ll be nice to play on the new field at home. We’ve got a tough team we’re going against, but being at home will be fun,” Hoerster said.