The Knights, aiming for their 14th straight North title, hadn’t been shut out since Oct. 21, 2005 (7-0 against Roger Bacon).
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime feeling to shut out Alter and get that goose egg,” said Fenwick safety Nick Wysong, who contributed an interception in the end zone and a fumble recovery. “We have a good team, we’ve worked hard for it, and we’re not done yet. We’re going to go back and keep working hard and do the same things we’ve been doing all year.
“It’s just an amazing, amazing feeling. There was no doubt we were going to do this tonight. People might say it’s Alter, they’re big and bad … we just acted like it was another team and did our thing.”
Alan Nix also had an interception for the Falcons, who improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the North. Michael Sheridan (15 carries, 143 yards) and Nathan Jeffers (16 carries, 68 yards, two touchdowns) keyed the hosts’ ground attack.
“It’s undescribable, honestly,” Jeffers said. “To do this on our field with all this support, it’s just great. We know what our defense is capable of doing, and to do it against a great team like Alter makes it that much sweeter.”
Fenwick looked like the more confident crew right from the get-go, scoring on a 5-yard run by quarterback Jimmy Gephart just 2:12 into the contest.
“Without a doubt, I think that was a big, big plus,” Falcons coach Joe Snively said of the opening 61-yard drive. “All week we thought it was going to be a defensive struggle. We needed the offense to pull through, and they definitely did.”
Fenwick’s defense limited Alter (3-1, 0-1) to 82 total yards.
“Wow, wow, wow,” said Snively, shaking his head. “We just played sound football. Pursue the ball in the correct lanes and do what you’re supposed to do. There’s nothing magic about it. It’s not easy, but it’s definitely not magic either. It’s just hard work on everybody’s part and the kids being coachable. That’s the beauty of it. They’re great students of the game. Every week, the kids are getting smarter and smarter about what we’re strong at and what we’re weak at, and they continue to work on those things.”
Ben Hinton notched eight total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks for the Falcons. Vince Durham was also in on eight tackles, and Anthony Frohlich had a hand in seven.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” Wysong said of Fenwick’s defense, which has allowed just one touchdown (by Mt. Healthy) this season. “We’ve got a good brotherhood, we come together, and we know how to play the game. We run fast to the ball.”
Matthew Hirko kicked a 23-yard field goal and three extra points for the Falcons. His multiple touchbacks played a key role in the field-position battle.
Fenwick led 14-0 at halftime, scoring just before intermission on a Jeffers 5-yard jaunt. It was set up by a 35-yard halfback pass from Keegan Corbett to Gephart. Corbett took the handoff and went right, then threw back across the field to a sprinting Gephart.
Corbett stepped in for Andy Riazzi, a former Alter player who was out this week with a sprained MCL. Snively said his diagnosis was two to four weeks.
“Corbett has done a hell of a job for us,” Snively said of the sophomore. “I’m so proud of that kid for stepping up. He’s been a quarterback coming up and really had his heart set on being a quarterback, and we’ve asked him to step up as a backup running back on the varsity. Now he’s competing for a job. He’s letting the other backs know there’s another kid that wants to carry the ball.”
The Knights managed just 68 rushing yards on 30 attempts. Andy Turpin ran 13 times for 54 yards, while quarterback Ryan Markoff was 4 of 13 for 14 yards through the air.
“We didn’t play well, and Fenwick certainly played an amazing game,” Alter coach Ed Domsitz said. “We tried a lot of different things in our playbook, and nothing seemed to work well. They won every phase of the game. That’s as good as any Fenwick team has ever played us. They made very few mistakes. Everything seemed crisp. They seemed to be able to jump on whatever we were doing.”
Asked about the Falcons’ defensive performance, the veteran coach replied, “We watched it on film and thought it was an excellent defense, and they came out and lived up to it.”
Domsitz said the Knights will regroup after watching their 20-game regular-season winning streak come to an end. They will travel to Roger Bacon next Friday.
“You’d like to think things like this only happen occasionally at Alter,” Domsitz said. “It’s never fun, but you go over and shake hands and congratulate them and see what happens. Hopefully the mistakes we made tonight are correctable. I believe they are.”
Fenwick wasn’t perfect. The Falcons touched the ball after an Alter punt and the Knights grabbed it to regain possession early in the third period. An FHS personal foul on third down allowed the visitors to keep the ball later that stanza instead of punting from their own 7-yard line. And Hirko missed 31- and 41-yard field goals.
Alter simply couldn’t find an offensive groove on this night. Fenwick totaled 230 yards on 47 carries, and Sheridan’s running dominated the second half.
“Run the ball and control the clock. That’s what we do,” Jeffers said. “Our line is great. I owe anything I get to them.”
The Falcons are headed for another emotional affair next Friday, facing Badin at Hamilton.
“I’m super proud of our kids. What a great job on their part. The coaches put together a great plan, and we kept it simple and just executed it,” Snively said. “It probably won’t sink in until I get home and rest with the wife and talk about everything that went on. I’m just happy for the kids and their families and the school to be a part of this. We want to feel good about it now, but I also want us to get back to being grounded tomorrow and get ready for Badin because they’re a great team.”
Alter 0-0-0-0—0
Fenwick 7-7-3-7—24
F: Jimmy Gephart 5 run (Matthew Hirko kick)
F: Nathan Jeffers 5 run (Hirko kick)
F: Hirko 23 field goal
F: Jeffers 5 run (Hirko kick)
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