At 8-2, Fenwick football had risen to a level head coach Fred Cranford had envisioned.

Like the Falcons, 19 of the 32 Division IV teams that qualified for the 2011 postseason had two or more losses. Unlike those teams, Fenwick didn’t land a Week 11 game. Huh?

“We just drew the short straw in the toughest division in Ohio,” reflected Cranford.

Actually, Fenwick had the misfortune of drawing uncharacteristic down years by its three non-league foes. A schedule quick-fix and an unlikely senior transfer has the Falcon Faithful thinking postseason once again.

Fenwick opens the 2012 season at 8 p.m. Thursday against Wyoming at Sycamore High School as part of the 21-game Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown.

Wyoming, 6-4 last season, bumps longtime opponent Talawanda (0-10) in Week 1 for the Falcons. Mount Healthy (8-2) replaces Oakwood (0-10) in Week 2. Valley View (2-8) remains the Week 3 opponent.

That means Fenwick’s three non-league wins in 2011 were against teams with a combined 2-28 record. It also meant not enough second-level computer points, leaving Fenwick at No. 10 in D-IV, Region 16. Only the top eight advance to the playoffs.

“Our biggest focus coming out of the season was scheduling for the moment,” said Cranford, a Fenwick grad who enters his seventh season as the Falcons head coach.

“We didn’t do ourselves any favors, but seven years into this our kids are ready to move onto the next challenge. We had to beef up our non-league games to set us up for the postseason. Now, it’s picking those teams off so we can do that.”

Combined with the 7-3 team of 2010, the Falcons are on a great two-season run. The only problem is Greater Catholic League North rivals Alter (10-1) and Chaminade Julienne (9-4) also are coming off great seasons and, like Fenwick, are loaded with plenty of tested regulars.

Fenwick lost only to CJ and Alter in Weeks 7-8 last year.

The bonus Falcon is senior quarterback Ricky Davis. He transferred soon after last season from Moeller. It was either that or spend yet another season behind Crusaders standout Spencer Iacovone.

Despite being a backup his entire prep career, Davis already has a couple offers. A quick study of the Falcons’ wing-T offense, he has proven to be the perfect replacement for graduated standout QB Austin Gearing, who’s now at Miami University.

“He’s definitely come in and competed and earned that spot,” Cranford said. “He can spin the ball better than anybody I’ve ever had. He embraced the wing-T in two practices. I’ve never seen that. He just got it.”

That’s what Fenwick is hoping to do with the postseason, too.