1. 2013 football
At the time, head coach Dave Woods felt his 2013 unit was the best football team the Catholic Central League had ever seen. Looking back 12 years later, we think it is easily the best team the school has seen in the 21st century so far. Fenwick was a perfect 13-0 and demolished previously unbeaten (and in some corners, heavily favored) Northbridge, 28-0, in the Division 5 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium. It was a no-nonsense group of hard-nosed football players who outscored their opponents 510-163.
Led by quarterback Nick Bona, who threw for 1,400 yards and ran for 900 with nearly 30 total TDs, it was a perfectly balanced team that could dominate both in the run game and the passing game while averaging 39.2 points per game. The Crusaders beat every MIAA team on their schedule by multiple touchdowns, only sweating a Thanksgiving win over Pingree (36-27) in which some starters rested for a few series.
Defensively, Bona had a school record 218 tackles and hit as hard as any Crusader who ever lived. Charlie Maistrellis, Eric Razney, Tommy Parsons and linemen Brandon DeBerardinis, David Hurley, Tyler Kaufman, Justice Andrade and Charlie St. Pierre were some of the other key members of this all-time team.
2. 2015-16 girls basketball
The Crusaders ran the Catholic Central League gauntlet in the 2016 playoffs, topping St. Mary’s in the North final and beating Archbishop Williams at TD Garden before winning the state championship over Hoosac Valley (57-48) in Springfield. With a sterling 23-4 record, Fenwick was led by Colleen Corcoran, who averaged a double-double and is perhaps the most clutch player on the hardcourt to come out of Margin Street over these last 25 seasons. Sydney Breenan also averaged 13.3 points and shot over 40 percent from deep while Sam Mancinelli, Ellen Fantozzi, Jaxson Nadeau, Freddie DeGuglielmo and Sam Gulla filled out a rotation and simply refused to lose with the money on the table.
3. 2004 baseball
In one of the most one-sided state tournament runs in recent memory, coach Kevin McCarthy’s CCL champs destroyed the competition, 51-10, in its six playoff games en route to the Division 3 state title. Hitting .328 as a team, Fenwick saw Jeff Giannino, Mike Blanchard and Harrison Bookstein all bat over .400 and combine for 67 RBI. Staff ace John Boyle was reliable as was Mike Hickey, and catcher Dave Surface remarkably made zero errors in 26 games. It was a true team that mastered the fundamentals and finished up 23-3.
4. 2023-24 girls basketball
Maybe the biggest ‘What if?’ in North Shore sports history because the MIAA denied this Crusader team the chance to play for a state championship due to a schoolwide tournament ban that had nothing to do with girls basketball. Would they have won it all? There’s a compelling case since Fenwick went 17-3, all three losses came to the two teams that played for the Division 1 state title and they beat Division 2 state champ Medfield twice. It might be the best girls front court assembled locally in the 21st century, led by 6-foot-2 Cecilia Kay, who averaged 21 a game and graduated with 1,713 points and 1,041 rebounds. Add a young Caitlin Boyle and not many teams could match-up physically with coach Adam DeBaggis’ starting five.
5. 2000-01 girls soccer
Meghann Cook graduated as Fenwick’s all-time scoring leader with 87 goals and 154 points, leading her team on a 22-game unbeaten streak that delivered the school’s first Division 2 North title via playoff wins over powerhouses from Danvers and Masconomet. Flanked by fellow captains Jena Goodman, Allie Hemsath, Kaitlin Sweeney and Courtney Barrows, Cook and the Crusaders brought coach Jose Isidro’s beautiful vision of soccer to life, were backstopped by future Clemson star and Northeastern coach Ashley Phillips in net, and finished the season 21-1-1.
6. 2008-09 boys basketball
A 20-3 record, a win over St. John’s Prep in the North Shore Invitational and a spot in the Division 3 North final were among many highlights for this squad, which ran just about everything through 6-foot-8 big man Mike Clifford. And why wouldn’t they? He graduated as Fenwick’s third all-time leading scorer with 1,706 points and over 1,000 rebounds while averaging 26-and-18 as a senior. Nolan DiPanfilo was also a member of the Crusaders’ 1,000 Point Club and Phil Eagan gave Fenwick key minutes at the forward spot.
7. 2013 volleyball
The first-ever sectional volleyball championship team in Bishop Fenwick history set a school record for wins (22) and ended up 22-3 with a loss in the state semifinals. Two-time Player of the Year Kate Lipka had 398 of her more than 600 career kills during this remarkable season and also graduated with 143 blocks. Jen Crovo (321 digs) was no slouch defensively for coach Adam DeBaggis’ club, and Chandler Wilder and Gianna Pizzano always came up big when it mattered most.
8. 2000 football
The second of back-to-back Super Bowl championship teams put on an absolutely suffocating defensive performance in a shutout win over Pentucket in the grand finale. Jason Berroa (the CCL MVP) had 17 tackles and led the Crusaders in rushing in the Super Bowl victory, with QB Brian McCarthy also putting on a sublime performance. Dave Babiarz, Arthur Gerald, Josh Takis and Chris Mercier were some of the other hard-hitters in coach Dave Woods’ lineup.
9. 2004 softball
The best single game performance by a Fenwick athlete in the 21st century? Dial up Jackie Collier, who threw a perfect game in the Division 1 North final, striking 11 Everett batters on 90 pitches. This Crusader team had just three seniors and went 13-7 in the regular season before catching fire in the playoffs thanks to Collier, who allowed only three runs in five tournament games.
10. 2019 baseball
As unselfish a group as you’ll find on the diamond, Fenwick won 18 games and the Division 3 North title with thrilling wins over excellent pitchers from Saugus, Swampscott and Lynnfield to run the North gauntlet. Keegan O’Connor had an incredible season at the plate, batting .489, while Cory Bright was an absolute winner and Trey Deloury, Christian Loescher and Jake Miano stabilized the pitching staff.
11. 2003 boys soccer
With Jon Hayes scoring 29 goals, the Crusaders went 16-3-0, won the Catholic Central League title and advanced to the Division 3 North semis for one of the best playoff runs in program history. Brian McNiff and keeper Cam Twiss had phenomenal seasons for Fenwick, which blanked Austin Prep and Marian in the tourney before a narrow loss to Wayland.
12. 2005 girls soccer
A 20-1-1 record and a memorable victory over rival Danvers by one goal in the North final capped a tremendous season for the Crusaders. Maddy Bassaillon anchored an amazing defense while Meghan Gould was one of the scoring standouts.
13. 2006-07 boys basketball
Ryan Sasso, who scored 1,320 career points, guided the Crusaders to the Division 3 North semifinals and a 17-6 record while averaging 23.2 points per game. John Squires, who went 6-foor-7, was a perfect compliment in the front court and a tourney win over rival Swampscott was one of this team’s brightest highlights.