Fenwick 23
Lane Tech 21
It was hardly snow-blizzard conditions when the Fenwick and Lane Tech football teams met last weekend at Soldier Field, 49 years after their first meeting. In 1959, on a cold and snowy day, and in front of a boisterous and unfettered crowd of over 50,000, Lane Tech upended the Friars 19-0 to win the City Championship. But under bright blue skies on Saturday, in Game 2 of the High School Kickoff Classic-with many of the Lane Tech “59ers” on hand-Fenwick finally got its revenge, holding on for a 23-21 season opening victory.
The Friars (1-0) pounded the ball down Lane Tech’s throats in the first half, with senior running back Greg Killingsworth doing most of the driving. Killingsworth racked up nearly 50 yards on the ground in the first two quarters, but it was a pass play that got Fenwick on the board just over two minutes into the game. Quarterback Joe Romano rolled right and found Brett Stelczyk in the flats for a 9-yard touchdown pass. After a 1-yard sneak by alternating quarterback Dominick Campagna in the second quarter, Romano and Stelczyk hooked up again, this time for an 11-yard touchdown with 23 seconds left in the second. Lane Tech’s block of the third extra-point in the half still kept the Friars with a comfortable 20-0 lead at halftime.
But the Indians (0-1) came out in the third quarter a new team. Luis Negron’s 9-yard pass to Marcel Gibson set up a 5-yard touchdown run by Frederick Williams.
“We had our legs under us when we came out in the third quarter,” said Lane Tech head coach Rich Rio. “The jitters were gone and we started to play physical football, but we just couldn’t sustain it long enough to get the win. We need to play an entire football game like the way we played in the second half, in order to beat a team like Fenwick.”
In the closing seconds of the third, Negron found Andre Alverez, who scored by leaping over defenders and the southeast end zone pylon for a touchdown. The extra-point was good, putting the Indians to within a touchdown, 20-14.
With 3:54 left on the clock, Campagna ended up sealing the victory for the Friars with a 26-yard field goal. With 11 seconds in the game, Lane Tech excited the crowd when Negron connected with Louis Trinca-Pasat for a 27-yard touchdown, but the ensuing onside kick did not go 10 yards and Fenwick took over possession.
Although the Friars faltered a bit in the second half, the team came out strong on both sides of the ball to start the game. Mark Donatelli intercepted a Negron pass in the first quarter, and a fumble recovery set up the final TD of the half for the Friars.
“We came out very strong in the first half and that was good to see,” said Fenwick head coach Joe DiCanio. “We didn’t have trouble moving the ball downfield at that point in the game.”
Lane Tech also had some strong defensive performances, most notably by Gibson and Erik Bartell, who sacked Romano for a 6-yard loss in the first half. Chris Collins picked off a Romano pass early in the fourth when Fenwick receiver Nico Krajecki fell down on the play. Krajecki made up for the stumble a few minutes later when the junior hauled in a 24-yard pass on third down that set up Campagna’s field goal.
Fenwick travels to Providence on Friday, while Lane Tech hosts Bogan. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.