The Falcons didn’t score in their last two scrimmages, but when they found themselves down 21-0 in the season opener against Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy last Friday, they were finally ready to move.
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Senior Keegan Corbett ran 37 times for 151 yards and two touchdowns to lead the way as Fenwick rallied for a 35-27 road victory.
“Not to quit, trust my teammates, focus through,” Corbett said of his thoughts when it was 21-0. “Everything’s possible. Our team is looking good.”
Corbett started the game at quarterback and was likely going to share some time there with Sully Janeck, but when running back Caleb Davis went down with an ankle injury in the second quarter, Janeck stepped in at QB and Corbett became the workhorse runner.
Corbett conceded that running back is his most natural position, but added, “Wherever he wants me to play, I’ll play.”
“He” is Fenwick coach John Aregood, who said the comeback win has given his squad a psychological boost heading into Friday’s home game against Belmont.
“I just told one of our coaches that this is the first week where they’ve come out with a lot of confidence,” Aregood said Tuesday toward the end of practice. “Right now, they think they can do anything. We need to keep them there, but we also need to warn them that you’re only as good as you play, and we’ll have to play well to keep it going.”
With Davis still sidelined this week, Aregood is planning to start Janeck at quarterback and use Corbett as the primary runner.
Corbett and Janeck are both safeties on defense, though Aregood said he isn’t sure what kind of defensive approach he’ll take against the ground-based, double-wing Bison.
“It’s a really hard offense to stop, and they’ve got the speed and power to run it,” Aregood said. “They may snap it to the up back, they might snap it to the quarterback. It’s hard for defenses to find the ball.”
“I know our defense will get the job done,” Corbett said. “We’ve just got to pound hard on offense. Linemen do their job, I do mine, Sully does his. We’re good.”
CHCA tallied four touchdown passes and 264 total yards, 219 through the air, against the Falcons’ defense. Aregood said outside linebacker Brad Davenport was a standout, along with down linemen Sam Kemper, Leo Bell and Jacob Ford.
“The funny thing is both our quarterbacks had a pick on defense too,” Aregood said. “That doesn’t happen very often.”
Janeck threw for a TD and ran for a score. Fenwick piled up 218 yards on the ground and 107 passing.
“We’re cautiously very optimistic about our capabilities on offense,” Aregood said. “We thought we were horrible when we played Franklin (in the final scrimmage), but then we looked at the film and we weren’t that bad. We thought we were amazing against CHCA after the first quarter, then you look at the film and it wasn’t quite as exciting as it looked. You’re never as good as you think you are and you’re never as bad.”
Belmont, a Division III playoff team last year, opened the season with a 42-0 rout of Dunbar. Elijah Malcolm ran for four touchdowns.
Friday’s game
What: Belmont (1-0) at Fenwick (1-0), 7 p.m.
Where: Krusling Field, 4855 Ohio 122, Middletown
Last meeting: Teams have never played
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