Fenwick thumped by Chaminade Julienne, 40-23

Falcons allow the  Eagles to gain 427 yards of total offense.

Frazier’s home run lifts Reds to 5th straight win
10:20 a.m.
Spartans head to regional final
5/24/12
Fenwick’s tourney run ends in regional semis
5/24/12
2 Middie jumpers qualify for state
5/24/12
College baseball: Miami tops Toledo in MAC tourney
5/23/12
> More sports headlines

By Rick Cassano, Staff Writer 1:42 AM Saturday, October 8, 2011

WEST CARROLLTON — The word of the night was “outplayed,” and Fenwick High School’s football team was on the wrong end of it.

The Falcons brought a perfect record to West Carrollton Middle School on Friday and left with a major headache as Dayton Chaminade Julienne romped to a 40-23 Greater Catholic League victory.

“We kind of had a big head coming into this game, so maybe this is good — it’ll bring us back to earth,” said Fenwick senior fullback Zach Hoehn, who gained 81 yards on nine carries and added 72 kickoff-return yards. “I know our captains will take over and get us back where we were.”

The Falcons grabbed a 3-0 lead on Tanner Coffman’s 37-yard field goal, but found themselves literally chasing the Eagles the rest of the way.

Austin Gearing completed 10-of-17 passes for 151 yards, connecting with Leo Haenni for a touchdown. Gearing also ran 16 times for 89 yards and two scores.

Fenwick, which hosts unbeaten Kettering Alter next Friday, fell to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the GCL North Division. CJ (5-2, 4-0) played turnover-free ball and ran its winning streak to five.

“It was very simple. We got outplayed,” Falcons coach Fred Cranford said. “We had a great week of practice. We showed up ready to play. They just beat us.

“That team is well put together,” he continued. “They’re the best-kept secret in our region.”

Quarterback Sam Spees sparked a CJ offense that racked up 427 yards. The senior was 9-of-15 for 133 yards and three touchdowns (two to Darian Reynolds, one to Jon Besecker) while rushing 10 times for 108 yards and a TD. Darrien Howard and Brandon Payne added ground scores.

The Eagles’ defense bent regularly, yet never let Fenwick truly find its rhythm. The Falcons didn’t help their own cause by fumbling the ball away twice.

“We talked a lot about momentum,” CJ coach Marcus Colvin said. “Fenwick is hard to defend. They’re going to hit some big plays. We just had to make sure we settled down after they did. Just because we gave up a big play didn’t mean it was a touchdown.”

The Eagles had plenty of big plays, including 68-yard runs by Spees and Ja’mel Sanders. CJ scored twice in the last 1:29 of the first half, once on a two-play, 87-yard drive (Sanders’ run, followed by Spees’ 19-yard TD dash), to take a 28-11 lead into halftime.

“We did a lot of positive things on offense, but we had some critical mistakes that really hurt us,” Cranford said. “Defensively, we couldn’t get off the field. We’ve still got a great football team. We’ve just got to lay this to rest and move forward.”

“We can’t get too excited because we’ll see them again in the (Division IV) playoffs, and they’ll rightfully be looking for some revenge,” said Colvin.

Share this article