Splinter, Bunker propel Masco past Fenwick

TOPSFIELD, Oct 04, 2008 (The Salem News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- MAS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The Masconomet football team may not see the full benefit of playing a brutal early-season schedule until after Thanksgiving, but the Chieftains are showing signs of becoming the type of team head coach Jim Pugh expects.

Evan Bunker and Chris Splinter were almost impossible to bring down on offense, each rushing for over 100 yards and a combined five scores to help Masco gain momentum with a 41-20 wipeout of Bishop Fenwick at Brother Roberts Field.

Bunker carried the ball just nine times but accumulated 172 yards. He scored on runs of 1 and 83 yards. Splinter, meanwhile, carried seven times for 100 yards with touchdowns of 1, 1 and 37 yards.

"A lot of times our guys did what they were supposed to do and were in position, but when you play guys that just have that much more talent than you that's what's going to happen," Fenwick (2-3) coach David Woods said. "I told the guys I couldn't fault them for the effort. They played as hard as they could, we just came across a team that was better than us."

In order for Fenwick to be competitive it had to gradually move the chains, keep the Masco offense off the field and put points on the board. The Crusaders managed to do that in their second possession, covering 74 yards in 14 plays. Junior quarterback Chris Renzulli punched it in from 2 yards out to cut Masco's lead to 7-6.

The rest of the half belonged to the Chieftains, however.

Masco (2-3) scored on all four of its first half drives. Bunker gave them the early lead, followed by touchdown runs from Splinter, Clay Cleveland, and Splinter again.

Fenwick headed to the locker room trailing 27-6, and that deficit was simply too much for it to overcome.

Splinter's 37-yard TD run to start the second half increased the lead to 34-6. Fenwick's Dan Kennedy responded with an 89-yard kick return, but it took the Chieftains only one play to respond. Bunker's 83-yard run, which covered something closer to 200 yards with all of his cutbacks, allowed the Masco starters to rest for more than a quarter.

"We hoped that we'd be a little better, but we can live with where we're at because we're getting better as a football team," Pugh said about his record which includes losses to St. John's Prep, Gloucester, and Norton. "Each game we're getting a little bit better."

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