Fenton leaves 'schneid' behind with blowout win
After getting outscored 88-0 in his team's first two games, Fenton football coach Mark Kos had one wish Saturday afternoon against Guerin Prep.
"Hopefully, we'll get off the schneid," he said.
The Bison did just that, holding the Crusaders to just 50 total yards of offense while scoring 26 unanswered first-half points en route to 33-0 Metro Suburban Conference crossover victory.
The game featured a 24-minute running clock in the second half due to Guerin Prep having just enough eligible players. Fenton got the ball once in that period and put together an 8-play, 60-yard drive that culminated in a 7-yard touchdown run by junior D.J. Kelly to set the final score. Kelly led the Bison in rushing with 56 yards on 6 carries.
"We knew we were in a good position to win this week," Kos said. "It was all about us this week, working on the little things to better prepare ourselves for the conference slate coming up in Week 5 and beyond."
After a trying first two games, the Bison were due for big half, and they got it Saturday.
Sophomore quarterback Kyle Cacioppo piloted an 8-play, 66-yard drive that led to Fenton's first points of the 2016 season, a 2-yard touchdown run up the middle by junior Dylan Butts with 4:50 left in the first quarter.
Guerin Prep's ensuing drive went nowhere, but sophomore defensive lineman Jeff Andrews blocked the punt and recovered it on the Crusaders' 5-yard line. One play later, senior running back Ivan Rodriguez was in the end zone.
Then Guerin Prep fumbled the ball away on its next possession, giving Fenton the ball on the Crusaders' 12-yard line. Three plays later, with 1:12 left in the first half, Rodriguez was back in the end zone.
With senior Greg Cazares' extra point, just like that, the Bison were up 20-0.
And they never looked back.
Rodriguez was one of seven running backs Kos employed. He finished with 25 yards on 4 carries, while fellow senior Abel Rivera added 53 yards on 10 carries.
"It's good to finally get some reps at running back," Rodriguez said. "I actually was put at O-line, but I had to fight my way back to running back because I felt that's my niche."
Rodriguez also joined Butts, Cazares and senior Kyle Higgins on Fenton's defensive front that contained elusive Guerin Prep quarterback John Szcygiel and held him to 29 yards rushing on 15 carries. They also sacked him twice.
It was a confidence-building win for Fenton, but Kos realizes there is plenty of work to do.
"I liked some of the things we did today," he said. "We're not ready for conference play by any stretch of the imagination. We've got to continue to get better."