PWN1001

8
WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 OCTOBER 1, 2020
Sports
Fenwick golf defeats Williams to
open fall sports season
By Mike Alongi
The Bishop Fenwick golf team
had the honor of opening up the
North Shore fall sports season
on Saturday with a home match
against Archbishop Williams,
and the Crusaders didn’t disappoint.
Behind strong performances
from its three team
captains, Fenwick notched a 185-
169 win over its Catholic Central
League foe at The Meadow at
Peabody Golf Course.
“It was great to get out there
and compete again,” said
Fenwick coach Jim McHugh. “I
was really happy with the way
we played overall in our first
match. I thought we were really
in control and we got good showings
from everyone who went out
there.”
Fenwick co-captain Cade
Buckley led the way for the
Crusaders with 34 points, while
co-captain Gavin Belt notched
32 points and co-captain John
Bennett contributed 27 points.
Senior Brandon Bloom (25
points) also played well in the
victory.
“It’s always great when your
top guys come through and make
such a big contribution,” said
McHugh. “All the guys went out
there and looked good and didn’t
show any nerves, so it was a solid
showing all around.”
The Crusaders were able to
use their home-course advantage
in this one, knocking their
way around the treacherous,
hazard-lined fairways of The
Meadow at Peabody.
“We’re a tough team to
beat at home,” said McHugh.
“Obviously we play at a tough
course where you really have to
know where to hit the ball and
where to leave it, so when we
get teams that come through who
aren’t as familiar with the course
we have a solid advantage.”
Aside from the strong performances
at the top of the rotation,
Fenwick got some key contributions
from a few newcomers
to the team this season. After
coming over from other sports,
Alex Gonzalez (24 points),
Jason Romans (23 points) and
Steven Woods (20 points) helped
turn the tide in Fenwick’s favor
against Williams.
“I can already tell that those
guys are going to be a big part
of our team this year, they’re all
great athletes and they really add
to our depth,” McHugh said of
Wood, Romans and Gonzalez.
“To have guys like that in the
middle of our lineup is huge because
there aren’t many teams
that go four, five or six players
deep. I think without those guys
out there, we would’ve had a
tough time winning the match.”
While McHugh acknowledges
there are certainly still improvements
to be made at this early
point in the season, he thinks that
this boost of confidence from the
season-opening win will help
carry the team into its next match.
“We still have plenty to work
on in a lot of areas, particularly
putting and reading putts, which
I don’t think we spend enough
time on,” said McHugh. “But
the guys are hitting it well and
working well together, so things
have gotten off to a solid start.
I think we’ll really be able to
take a lot of confidence from our
performance this weekend and
hopefully we’ll be able to keep it
going into this coming week.
“I think if we can come out of
this week with a 3-1 record we’ll
be in great shape,” McHugh
added.
The Crusaders couldn’t quite
carry over the magic from its
season opening win over the
weekend, falling to Catholic
Central League foe Bishop
Feehan, 201-181, on the road
at Heather Hill Country Club in
Plainville Monday.
“It was definitely a tough
course and a long trip, but we
don’t want to make any excuses,”
said Fenwick coach Jim
PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK
Bishop Fenwick co-captain Cade Buckley has scored a total of
69 points over his first two matches for the Crusaders to open
the season.
McHugh. “We had some solid performances (Monday), but we still
need to be better if we want to take home the win.”
Buckley led the way for the Crusaders in the loss with 35 points,
while Woods had 31 points. Connor Cunningham (27 points), Belt (26
points) and Bloom (25 points) also contributed in the loss.
Fenwick is back in action Thursday afternoon (3:30) on the road
against St. Joseph’s before returning home to host Matignon Saturday.
“It’s a bit of a marathon week with the three matches, but that’s
how it’s going to be in this condensed season,” said McHugh. “We’ll
definitely be stronger when we get back and play on our home course
this weekend.”
Peabody gets back out on the field
PHOTOS | OLIVIA FALCIGNO
Left: Peabody boys soccer coach Stan McKeen watches over drills during practice on Wednesday afternoon at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School.
Center: Peabody field hockey captain Alise Maltsev moves the ball down the field during a practice on Wednesday afternoon.
Right: Hailey Baker kicks the ball down the field during a girls soccer practice on Wednesday afternoon.