PEABODY — It’s never too chilly for an ice cold Gatorade bath on the sidelines.
Bishop Fenwick head football coach Dave Woods was on the receiving end of one of those celebratory dousings Saturday afternoon. Despite the cold and wet conditions, Woods was all smiles and had nary a hair out of place after his Crusaders delivered his milestone 200th career victory via a 39-7 thumping of Bishop Stang at Donaldson Field.
“I’ve been blessed by all of it,” Woods said after receiving a game ball, banner and plaque from this year’s captains and Bishop Fenwick president Tom Nunan. “The amount of support we have here, the type of players we get, the assistant coaches and the administration’s support … it’s all been amazing.”
Bishop Fenwick’s head coach since the summer of 1998, Woods’ career record is 200-93 with state championships in 1999, 2000 and 2013. His teams have been to Super Bowls on five occasions, and he is the third North Shore football coach to win 200 games all with the same school (joining Jack Welch of Ipswich and Jim O’Leary of St. John’s Prep).
“I started as the team waterboy in second grade, so I’ve seen a lot of these wins,” said senior captain Lincoln Dugan, son of Woods’ long-time top assistant Dave Dugan. “I just feel really fortunate to be a part of all this. Coach Woods has been like a second father to me.”
In moving to 2-0 on Saturday, Fenwick had to shake off a somewhat sloppy first half that saw the Crusaders and visiting Spartans (0-3) combine for five turnovers. The wet and slippery football led to fumbles (one recovered by Fenwick’s Ty Santos) and interceptions off of tipped and bobbled passes, circumstances which inspired Fenwick to put the ball on the ground and impose their will in the second half.
Tyler Connolly (10 carries, 56 yards) and Dylan Patturelli (11 carries, 54 yards) were happy to pound the rock. Connolly did most of the damage on a 6-minute and 38-second march to open the third quarter, scoring from eight yards out.
“That opening drive was huge,” said Woods. “The offensive line played much better, and Dylan and Tyler both ran it hard. We definitely wanted to pound the ball there and put the game away.”
Senior captain and quarterback Brayden Clifford (6-for-12, 125 yards) threw his second TD pass of the game 44 yards to a wide open Odin Garron on a fourth down play in the fourth quarter. Craig Masone then broke away for a 69-yard touchdown in the waning moments as Bishop Fenwick turned a somewhat tight ballgame (20-7) into a rout.
Lincoln Dugan opened the scoring by taking a punt back 41 yards to the house after Stang’s opening drive went nowhere. The Spartans employ a tight, run-oriented offense that can be tough to contend with, but the Crusaders’ stable of sure tacklers like Connolly, Patturelli and Aidan Byrne held them at bay.
In addition, senior Aidan Silva had an incredible game as far as shucking off blocks and sniffing out counters for big tackles.
“That’s two games in a row now Aidan’s been our best defensive player,” Woods said. “He’s been unbelievable. We’ve got a ton of guys that are fun to coach because of their energy, and Aidan’s at the top of that list.”
Clifford found Connolly for a 19-yard touchdown and Patturelli crashed in from a yard out as Fenwick built a 20-0 lead. The teams then traded turnovers and Stang got its only points after cashing in on a strip sack that set them up at the Fenwick 5-yard line. Luke Oliveira’s 3-yard run had it 20-7 at the break.
Patturelli also recovered a fumble for Fenwick while Connolly and senior Nate Allder came down with interceptions.
Reflecting on how much the game has changed in his quarter-century as the Crusaders’ head coach, Woods noted that while schemes evolve, the qualities that make great players and great teammates largely remain the same.
“The kids want to be pushed, they want to work hard and they want to have discipline. That’s what keeps me going,” Woods said. “This group, especially, is best friends that have a lot of fun playing football together.”
Bishop Fenwick 39, Bishop Stang 7
at Donaldson Field, Peabody
Bishop Stang (0-3);0;7;0;0;7
Bishop Fenwick (2-0);13;7;6;13;39
Scoring summary
BF- Lincoln Dugan 41 punt return (kick blocked)
BF- Dylan Patturelli 1 run (Aidan Silva kick)
BF- Tyler Connolly 19 pass from Brayden Clifford (Silva kick)
BS- Luke Oliveira 3 run (Nathan Zexter kick)
BF- Connolly 8 run (rush failed)
BF- Odin Garron 44 pass from Clifford (pass failed)
BF- Craig Masone 69 run (Silva kick)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Bishop Stang — Keegan Plante 18-54, Brock Winslow 3-24, Dan Yazbeck 4-22, Dylan Hunt 5-16, Travis Henriques 3-4, Luke Oliveira 4-9 ; Bishop Fenwick — Craig Masone 3-71, Tyler Connolly 8-56, Dylan Patturelli 11-54, Lincoln Dugan 1-10, Joe Morceau 1-4, Brayden Clifford 5-(-6).
PASSING: Bishop Stang — Winslow 2-4-35-0-2; Bishop Fenwick — Clifford 6-12-125-2-2.
RECEIVING: Bishop Stang — Tru Gonsalves Cosme 2-35, ; Bishop Fenwick — Odin Garron 3-86, Connolly 2-35, Patturelli 1-4.