The Bishop Fenwick football coaches specifically changed their defensive scheme in the offseason to be better equipped to face the spread offense.
All of the offseason preparation will immediately be put to the test when the Crusaders travel to play Methuen tonight (7 p.m.) in their season opener.
Methuen is the first of seven teams on the Fenwick schedule that employ a variation of the spread. Fenwick coach Dave Woods knows the focus of his defense has to be on Rangers' senior quarterback Matt Bartlett. A dual threat, Bartlett is dangerous running or throwing — especially when he slips out of the pocket.
"The big thing is that we have to pressure (Bartlett) and not give him time to sit back and pick us apart," Woods said. "We were working all week on containing the pocket, not letting him get outside. We want to keep him in and make him get rid of the football quick."
To do so, the Crusaders will be using a 3-5 defensive alignment (three down linemen, five linebackers) instead of the old 4-4 they ran in previous seasons. The idea is to get a bigger player off the field in favor of a smaller, quicker one.
The results have been mixed so far for the Crusaders. Woods can see the defense getting stronger in practice, but the preseason scrimmages they had were against more traditional, run-oriented teams.
Another key for Fenwick in stopping Methuen's offense is simply by keeping them off the field. With a deep roster, Methuen has the luxury of not using players both ways, meaning both sides of the ball remain fresh.
"We'll try to slow it down. They're a no-huddle, hurry-up offense, so we'll try to use some clock and keep their offense off the field," Woods said. "If we can have nice long, sustained drives with no penalties or turnovers, we'll be all right."
Fenwick's offense will have a brand new look as well.
Record-setting running back Bobby Tarr, the focal point of Fenwick's offense the last two seasons, graduated and moved on to Bentley College. The Crusaders will now be looking for offense from a variety of places to make up for his loss.
Just like the old 4-4 defense, Fenwick scrapped its I-formation offense. Former defensive coordinator Paul Lyman is now calling the plays for a Wing-T style offense, which predicates itself on misdirection and fakes. Senior captains Dan Kennedy (tailback), Dale Crispin (fullback) and Kyle White (wingback) will be the focal point of the Crusader offense.
Junior Chris Renzulli will make his first start at quarterback. Renzulli was pencilled in as a backup tailback and QB before senior Pat Holleran (who was named the starter at quarterback in the preseason) went down with an injury.
Fellow captains Chris White and Dennis Kanarkiewicz will anchor the Fenwick line on both offense and defense.
Woods also has liked what junior Kevin Pierce has shown at linebacker. "I don't know if there's another kid on this team that loves football more," Woods said of Pierce, who will no doubt play a big role in stopping Bartlett.
Seniors John Welz (SE/DB), Zach Fitch (OL/DE) and Matt Murray (MLB) are also expected to have a big impact for the Crusaders.
In addition to Matt Bartlett, Fenwick has to worry about his brother, Mike Bartlett. Mike Bartlett is a dangerous receiving target (24 catches, 365 yards last year) and rushing threat (95 carries, 573 yards, 8 TDs last fall).
