Bishop Fenwick football coach Dave Woods would probably love to say he has great depth and balance across each class on his football team.
The hard reality is that Woods' Crusaders are a young club — but that might not be a bad thing.
"I don't think we have any choice (playing underclassmen) for one thing, but after seeing us scrimmage the younger kids were the ones making the plays," Woods said. "It's like (assistant coach) Paul Lyman says, 'I don't care how old you are or what grade you're in, if you're a football player, you're a football player.' If they can play, they can play."
You need to look no further than sophomore captain Nick Bona to understand the situation.
Bona played his way into the lineup as a safety last year. He also saw time returning kicks and a few plays here and there on offense. He's also a natural athlete and leader, which is the main reason why he was elected captain at the end of last season by his teammates and coaches.
He is believed to be the first sophomore football captain in school history and the first non-senior captain during Wood's 14 years on the job.
"Nick being elected captain didn't surprise us because he was with us last year and was a great leader and a great kid. But after we thought about it, it was impressive that he was a freshman and they voted him captain," Woods said. "He's definitely a special kid and it's well deserved and well earned."
Bona will be back in his defensive back spot this year, and he's been battling junior transfer Fran Hannon for the quarterback position in camp. Even if Hannon beats him out, Bona will be factoring in somewhere on offense.
Seniors Brandon McCauley, Will Clancy and Mike Dainis will be joining Bona as captains.
McCauley and Clancy are both offensive guards and inside linebackers, while Dainis is a split end/defensive back.
Sophomores Charlie Maistrellis and Ben Kaupp each earned time as freshmen last year, and both have had good camps so far this year.
Fenwick, which ran a spread offense exclusively for the first time last year, appears to be heading back to the Wing T offense it had previously been running, but that shouldn't be a problem for freshman Rufus Rushins.
Rushins, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound Lynn native, will likely make his presence felt this fall as a fullback/defensive end. Rushins comes to Fenwick with a fairly big reputation after being named defensive MVP in the Eastbay Youth All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, last January.
Senior two-way tackle Chris Roth has also looked good early for the Crusaders.
"We scrimmaged Bedford and Lowell. They're both good teams and we didn't beat them, but we held our own which was a shock to me," Woods said. "We had practically all sophomores on the field."
FENWICK FACTS
Last year's record: 3-8
Head coach: Dave Woods (14th season, 94-52)
Team captains: Brandon McCauley (Sr., OG/ILB), Will Clancy (Sr., OG/ILB), Mike Dainis (Sr., SE/DB), Nick Bona (Soph., DB)
Top returning rusher: Nick Bona (9 yards, 0 TDs)
Top returning passer: Bona (10 yards, 0 TDs)
Top returning receiver: Mike Dainis (139 yards, 0 TDs)
Last league title: 2003 (Catholic Central League Large)
Did You Know?: For the first time under Woods the Crusaders spent 3 1/2 days of training camp away, working out in Moultonboro, N.H.
2011 Schedule
DateOpponentTime
Sept. 9Northeast7 p.m.
Sept. 16at Weston7 p.m.
Sept. 24at Lynnfield11 a.m.
Sept. 30Georgetown7 p.m.
Oct. 6North Reading7 p.m.
Oct. 15at Hamilton-Wenham2 p.m.
Oct. 21Archbishop Williams7 p.m.
Oct. 28at Cardinal Spellman7 p.m.
Nov. 5at Arlington Catholic1 p.m.
Nov. 12at St. Mary's7 p.m.
Nov. 23Austin Prep6:30 p.m.
