Prep football: Defense powers Fenwick in playoff-opening win over CJ

MIDDLETOWN — The rematch also went in Fenwick High School’s favor.

The Falcons defeated Chaminade Julienne 34-19 back in Week 7 and made it a home sweep Friday night by beating their Greater Catholic League Coed Division rival 28-7 in a Division III, Region 12 football quarterfinal at Krusling Field.

A strong defensive performance keyed third-seeded Fenwick (9-2). In yet another cold and wet contest, the Falcons nearly doubled the visitors in time of possession and allowed no first downs in the opening half.

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“We ran the ball well in the first half,” Fenwick coach Dan Haverkamp said. “We did a great job in the second half by using up a lot of clock time. I thought our defense did a great job. This is the best they’ve played all season.”

Jack Fessler got the Falcons on the board with a 3-yard touchdown run in the first period. It capped a 13-play drive.

“I think it was critical for us to gain that first touchdown,” Haverkamp said. “It was a really big play for us.”

The Eagles fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and the ball was recovered by David Schuh. Less than two minutes later, Sully Janeck hit Joe Perrotti with a 7-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0.

Another 3-yard TD by Fessler in the second period allowed Fenwick to take a 21-0 lead into halftime.

“To limit them to zero first downs in the first half, that’s tough to do against Chaminade,” Haverkamp said. CJ had 33 total yards at that point.

After a scoreless third stanza, the Falcons pushed the margin to 28-0 when Janeck connected with Thomas Vogelsang for a 25-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.

The Eagles (7-4), seeded sixth, responded quickly. Dominic Wilcox caught a 53-yard pass and Brendan Kadel crossed the goal line on a 10-yard run with 6:21 left.

Fessler, who carried the ball 12 times for 64 yards, talked about the tough play in scoring his two touchdowns.

“I didn’t expect to be in the middle today, but we got a big push at the goal line,” Fessler said. “We were fighting for yards and we scored up close twice, so that was nice.”

Fenwick amassed 408 total yards to CJ’s 133. Janeck was 14-of-23 for 190 yards through the air, while Caleb Davis gained 126 yards on 30 carries.

Defensively, Logan Miller and Henry Nenni paced the Falcons with eight and seven total tackles, respectively.

For the Eagles, Luke Chandler was 4-of-12 for 18 yards and Kadel was 2-of-2 for 55 yards, and Kadel was the leading rusher with 35 yards on eight carries.

Linebacker David Frederick had 10 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss for CJ, which lost four of its last five games.

The Falcons will face No. 2 seed Wapakoneta in a regional semifinal next Friday at a neutral site that will be announced Sunday by the Ohio High School Athletic Association. Wapak knocked off Trotwood-Madison 24-21 on Friday.

Chaminade Julienne 0-0-0-7—7

Fenwick 14-7-0-7—28

F: Jack Fessler 3 run (Matt Beckman kick)

F: Joe Perrotti 7 pass from Sully Janeck (Beckman kick)

F: Fessler 3 run (Beckman kick)

F: Thomas Vogelsang 25 pass from Janeck (Beckman kick)

C: Brendan Kadel 10 run (Jake Staub kick)

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