Fenwick makes crucial plays to advance past Brother Rice, 12-7, in IHSA 7A first round

RIVER GROVE – Both Fenwick senior Jack Paris and coach Matt Battaglia had a message for the Friars heading into Saturday’s Class 7A first round game against Brother Rice: Compete at 100% on every play.

In a game filled with over a hundred plays, the duo kept reiterating the importance of each play. They knew that Saturday’s could be a game that would come down to a handful of plays.

[ Photos: Fenwick vs. Brother Rice ]

Fenwick got the message Saturday.

The Friars took advantage of the Crusaders’ mistakes Saturday and made critical plays when they needed to in order to win 12-7.

“We knew we had to play as a unit,” senior Auburn commit Nate Marshall said. “You know, play hard knock football like the Friars do and just come to play.”

None felt bigger than when Fenwick (8-2) received a prime scoring chance toward the end of the first half. Friars senior Patrick Gilboy pressured Brother Rice senior quarterback CJ Gray and recovered a fumble on the Crusaders 40-yard line with 34 seconds left in the second quarter.

Fenwick senior quarterback Frankie Hosty completed a 39-yard touchdown pass to senior Andrew Bjorson before Marshall rushed in for a touchdown to give the Friars a 10-7 lead with eight seconds left in the second quarter.

“It honestly flipped the game,” Battaglia said. “It’s no secret in football, the team that’s winning at half wins like 70% of the time, so that was huge, right there, and that got our momentum going. Especially versus an opponent like this. Every point matters.”

Despite failing to gain momentum in the second half for various reasons, Brother Rice still had a chance to drive the field twice. Fenwick junior punter Noah Sur pinned the Crusaders to their own 2 and 6, respectively, on their last two drives.

Brother Rice went three-and-out on the second-to-last drive and then the Friars ended the game with one last strong defensive play to start the last drive. Both Paris and senior Henry Fluecke pressured Gray, who ran out of bounds in the back of the end zone to force a safety to make it 12-7 lead with 2:05 left in the game.

“Our defensive lines got after it every play,” Paris said. “That guy, I’d be scared if I was him with our defensive line.”

Hosty threw for 173 yards and an interception, completing 15 of his 29 passes in his second straight week at quarterback after junior Jamen Williams didn’t play after leaving Fenwick’s Week 9 game. Senior Ninos Ameer rushed for 30 yards on 11 carries while Bjorson caught four passes for 50 yards.

Paris added 21 rushing yards on eight carries while sophomore Jake Theis had an interception.

After being thrown into action last week, Hosty felt more comfortable and made sure to take advantage on plays when he could.

“It feels great,” Hosty said. “Our line was great all day, so it’s good that we connected on some shots and did everything we could to get the win.”

The Crusaders (6-4) took a 7-3 lead with 4:58 left in the second quarter when Gray rushed in a yard for a touchdown. Gray completed 6 of his 15 pass attempts for 40 yards and an interception while also rushing for 20 yards on six carries. Senior Tyler Lofton rushed for 101 yards on 21 carries and senior Donovan Brown had an interception.

“We knew we had to play as a unit. You know, play hard knock football like the Friars do and just come to play.”

—  Nate Marshall, Fenwick senior

While Brother Rice moved the ball up the field well at time, the Crusaders failed to take advantage of different opportunities.

“It’s a game of inches,” Brother Rice coach Casey Quedenfeld said. “The game of life gives you obstacles and you have to overcome those obstacles. We just didn’t overcome the obstacles today. [We] just made too many mistakes that were so little mistakes that could end up helping you big time.”

Fenwick will play Downers Grove North (9-1) in the second round next weekend on a day and time that will be announced at a later time.

The Friars are trying to push for their first deep postseason run since winning the Class 5A title in 2021. Battaglia liked the way Fenwick accomplished the first step Saturday.

“They all believed they were all on the same page together,” Battaglia said. “They want to win each moment.”