“We’ve been waiting all year. It’s finally time,” said Davis, with the Falcons preparing to host Chaminade Julienne in a Division III, Region 12 football playoff quarterfinal Friday night.
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Davis has played the last two games after missing the first eight following a preseason foot injury. Fessler has exploded as Fenwick’s feature back, rushing for 1,673 yards and 22 touchdowns after missing the 2017 campaign with a knee injury.
Falcons coach Dan Haverkamp won’t say exactly how he plans to use the duo the rest of the way — “We’ll use both of them to our advantage as much as possible,” Haverkamp said — but Davis has already shown he’s truly back with 114 yards and two TDs on 12 carries.
“I don’t really feel any pain right now,” Davis said. “I know Week 9 when I came back I could definitely feel it, but I feel like it’s better than ever now.”
Davis underwent surgery after suffering a Jones fracture of his pinky toe during a scrimmage.
“I was blitzing outside and the quarterback went to throw. I jumped up to swat it and came down on my foot and it broke,” Davis said. “I didn’t get hit at all. I just came down on it wrong.”
He was an outside linebacker and running back in the preseason. Davis came back playing some safety, and Haverkamp said he’s versatile enough to use wherever Fenwick needs him.
Fessler came out of last Friday’s 42-41 triumph over Carroll with a shoulder injury, but he said he’ll be fine to play against CJ.
“Caleb is looking like he did in the preseason,” Haverkamp said. “Our athletic trainer Amy Anders said she’s never seen somebody work as hard as he did in his rehab to stay in shape and to get back as quickly as possible. Caleb is a very versatile chess piece for us.”
Davis said he learned a few life lessons during his time on the sidelines.
“It wasn’t a good feeling being my senior year and all, but I enjoyed being around my brothers and watching them succeed,” Davis said. “I felt like it was a good experience because I learned how to deal with this adversity.”
Fenwick (8-2) vs. CJ (7-3) is a rematch of Greater Catholic League Coed Division rivals from Week 7. Fessler ran for 317 yards in a 34-19 victory for the Falcons.
Haverkamp said looking past the Eagles isn’t an option. He noted that CJ lost decisively to Alter in last year’s regular-season finale, them hammered the Knights in Week 11.
“If we aren’t prepared and we don’t plan and we don’t focus, then we’re going to have the same fate Alter did last year,” Haverkamp said. “We know CJ’s a good football team. They’re very capable.”
The Eagles were unbeaten through five games, but they’ve stumbled to 2-3 (and didn’t look especially sharp in the two wins) since losing three starters to the new Ohio High School Athletic Association transfer rule that ended their seasons after Week 5.
CJ coach Marcus Colvin said his team did play a very strong first half last week against Alter before losing 35-3.
“We knew that we were going to be transitioning after Week 5, and there’s a whole bunch of mental that goes into that with high school kids,” Colvin said. “Then you take a couple on the chin, and that never helps. But we still have high expectations. We know the reality of our situation. We’re missing some really good players and we’re not the healthiest, but gosh darn, we still feel like and expect that we can play well Friday night.”
Colvin saw way more of Fessler than he cared to back in Week 7, but the CJ coach knows the Fenwick offense is more than a one-man show. Senior quarterback Sully Janeck has thrown for 1,762 yards and 16 touchdowns.
“They’re a problem because they’re not one-dimensional when they very easily could be,” Colvin said. “They kind of make you pick your poison.”
Freshman quarterback Luke Chandler (62-of-117, 786 yards, five TDs) and junior running back Quincy Johnson (165 carries, 1,011 yards, 15 TDs) lead the Eagles’ offense.
“The key for us is really just being efficient,” Colvin said. “We’ve been turning the ball over, we’ve had a lot of penalties. We’re just not playing clean. We’re not helping ourselves, and when you’re playing really good football teams, you can’t allow it to become easy for them to take advantage of your mistakes.”
Friday’s game
What: Division III, Region 12 football quarterfinal, No. 6 seed Chaminade Julienne (7-3) at No. 3 seed Fenwick (8-2), 7 p.m.
Where: Krusling Field, 4855 State Route 122, Middletown
Series: Chaminade Julienne leads 7-6, though Fenwick won 34-19 in Week 7 this year
Next: Winner will play either Trotwood-Madison or Wapakoneta at 7 p.m. on Nov. 9 at a neutral site
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