Based on size alone (CJ is Division III), that matchup is more agreeable to Aregood than last Friday’s at D-I Lebanon. The D-IV Falcons set a season high for points allowed in a 49-27 loss.
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“It’s a really tough situation,” Aregood said. “If you look at their stadium, they have something like 3,000 or so people there. Us on a good night might get a thousand. If you look across the field, they’ve got 80 or so players over there. We have 45 on our side of the field. It’s quite a lopsided deal.”
Despite the size differential, Fenwick equated itself well, piling up 23 first downs to Lebanon’s 12, 290 yards of total offense to Lebanon’s 253 and 176 rushing yards to 57 while going 8-for-15 on third-down conversions and 2-for-2 on fourth and possessing the ball for 29 minutes.
The Falcons also turned the ball over five times to the Warriors’ one and allowed Lebanon to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown — examples of what’s plagued Fenwick all season.
“Our team makes a lot of inopportune mistakes,” Aregood said. “We give away big plays. We’re capable of playing good football on both sides of the ball, but on Friday nights, I feel like Santa Claus with all the gifts we give away. It’s not intentional, but we feel like we gave up four touchdowns on mistakes and execution. Friday night was the worst yet.”
Adding injury to insult, Fenwick also lost 5-foot-10, 165-pound playmaking junior wide receiver-cornerback Giovanni DiGirolamo to a severe knee injury, Aregood said. DiGirolamo has three fumble recoveries.
“He’s a good player,” Aregood said. “We’re going to miss him. I feel really bad for him.”
Fenwick and CJ both are 1-2 going into Friday’s game, but the Eagles are coming off a 63-22 win at Meadowdale. Senior quarterback Ryan Peltier ranks second in the GCL Coed with 393 passing yards and first with four touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Matthew Willes is third with 119 receiving yards, and Chaminade Julienne ranks second as a team with an average of 131 passing yards per game and third with an average of 31.7 points per game.
The Eagles are also third with an average of 16 points allowed per game, but they’re last in the eight-team division with an average of 94 rushing yards per game.
“They’ve got a very good quarterback who flings it around and gets rid of it quick,” Aregood said of the 6-1, 187-pound CJ passer. “They have a couple of good kids who can run, and they seem to have a strong defensive line. I think those are their strengths.
“Our schedule is brutal at the beginning of the year. We get Alter after them.”
Fenwick senior running back-free safety Keegan Corbett has been the Falcons’ workhorse with a division-leading 83 carries. The 5-10, 175-pound Corbett us fourth with 294 rushing yards. Defensively, 6-3, 225-pound senior tight end-middle linebacker Joe Durham is second with 33 tackles, while 6-1, 190-pound junior tight end-outside linebacker Ben Gustely has two fumble recoveries.
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“Keegan Corbett has been tremendous, and Brad Davenport has been really good at outside linebacker,” Aregood said. “Durham and (junior tackle-defensive end) Sam Secrest are playing really well, but we expected that.”
“If you look at them on film, they’re very physical,” CJ coach Marcus Colvin said. “They play sound, physical defense. The first things I look at with other teams is how they play defense and how they line up and run the football. They’ve got some skilled kids. Their quarterback is pretty savvy on offense. Practice has been exhausting this week trying to get ready for all of the things they throw at you with the option and run-and-shoot.”
Fenwick has won the last three games in the series by an average of 29.7 points per game, a figure influenced by the Falcons’ 55-0 win two years ago, sandwiched between a 25-7 final score in 2014 and a 26-10 finish last season. That has not been forgotten by the Eagles, Colvin said.
“Two years ago, they went to the (state semifinals) and lost to the eventual state champion,” he said. “Last year, we competed. We were down 13-10 and had the ball, and we imploded. We had our chances and didn’t pull it out.”
Friday’s game
What: Fenwick (1-2) at Chaminade Julienne (1-2), 7 p.m.
Where: Roger Glass Stadium, 401 S. Perry St., Dayton
Last year: Fenwick won 26-10
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