De La Salle 17
Fenwick    10
The Fenwick football team was forced to settle for owning a share of the Chicago Catholic League White Division Championship as the Friars fell to De La Salle on Friday night at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.
The game marked the first American football contest at the park, home of the Chicago Fire soccer team. Fenwick was everything but on fire to start the game on its Senior Night. On just the second play of the game, wideout D.J. Bland hauled in a 36-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Tom Lally to give De La Salle an early lead. Bland, who finished with six catches for 110 yards on the night, also had a dazzling defensive play near the end of the game. The senior swiped a pass from Fenwick quarterback Joe Romano during a goal-line stance to preserve his team’s win.
The Friars (6-3, 3-1), who turned the ball over an unprecedented five times during the game, countered Bland’s first feat with a touchdown of their own in the first quarter. Romano hit Nico Krajecki from 25-yards out for a touchdown. Dominic Campagna notched the score at 7-7 with the extra point.
De La Salle took the lead in the second when running back Mark Kasper burrowed into the end zone from three yards out. The Meteors (6-3, 3-1) added an insurance field goal to close out the first half. Juan Gonzalez booted a 42-yard field goal that put his team up 17-7.
Fenwick was only able to muster a 32-yard field goal by Campagna in the third quarter.
Fenwick running back Greg Killingsworth rushed for 179 yards on 35 carries, while Kaspor finished with 114 yards on 23 carries.
“We need to quit spotting teams easy touchdowns,” said Fenwick head coach Joe DiCanio, who in his fifth year has led the Friars to four playoff appearances. “We didn’t stop the run, but hung in there and didn’t quit. We had a chance to win it in the end but just did not get it done.”
The loss didn’t seem to have an effect on Fenwick’s and its playoff seeding. The Friars were awarded the fourth seed in Class 7A and will take on Lincoln Park (6-3) at Morton West on Saturday (1 p.m.). However, its playoff points did lift Fenwick into Class 7A, where DiCanio said he’d rather not have his team.
“We belong in 6A, but we will play who they want us to play and go week to week,” said DiCanio. “Class 7A is a dominant bracket, and the multiplier is what it is.”
A victory over Lincoln Park on Saturday will likely pin the Friars against Glenbard West in the second round. The highly-ranked Hilltoppers went undefeated during the regular season with a 9-0 record, and won the West Suburban (Silver) Conference title outright.
“Kids are resilient, so I think we’ll be fine,” said DiCanio when asked if the team’s momentum might now be compromised with the loss to De La Salle. “We’ve got some moxie in us.”