Fremd means business in win over Hersey
There would be no Hail Mary on this Friday night.
Not even a Hail Hersey.
Fremd was very "business-like," as head coach Lou Sponsel put it, in a 35-7 MSL crossover varsity football win at Hersey.
The Vikings bounced back nicely from a heartbreaking defeat the week before when Lake Zurich won on a last-second pass.
While Fremd's offense rolled up an impressive 400-plus yards in total offense behind its big offensive line, featuring Ethan Hanson, Matt Payne, Max Carver and tight end Austin Schwantz, its defense, led by Schwantz, Will McCabe, Mike Constantino and Patrick Ryzcek limited Hersey (0-2) to 166 yards, 56 of them on one play.
"They played a really good game. They played a really good game last week too," said appreciative Fremd quarterback Tom Josten, who threw for 175 yards and a TD to Schwantz, who barreled through people to score from 22 yards out in the second quarter.
Fremd (1-1) took control in period two, scoring on drives of 13 plays for 80 yards, 9 plays for 73 yards and 6 plays for 40 yards after Constantino's pick six was called back on an illegal block on the return.
The three drives consumed more than 16 minutes, with the first one actually starting in the first quarter. It was classic ball-control, power football.
Joe Schneider (15 carries, 79 yards) and Alec Honickel (12 carries, 66 yards) were the beneficiaries of Fremd's ability to use its large offensive line to wear down Hersey's defenders.
Schneider had a 1-yard scoring TD and Josten another to cap off two of the three scoring drives.
"I need to control the offense better, get us going," Josten said of going from scoreless on two possessions in the first quarter to the end zone on the next three in the second quarter.
Fremd finished off the scoring with Jake Haas' slick-cutting 31-yard run and Honickel's 1-yard burst to cap off a short drive after a short punt.
Still, though, Sponsel spoke of more work to be done.
"We have a lot of mistakes to clean up," he said.
The defense did, except for a 56-yard halfback option pass on which it got completely fooled, letting speedy Matt Abfall get behind it while Nick Wiley turned a pitchout from Owen Goldsberry into a long TD pass to a wide-open receiver.
"Our coaches did a good job prepping the team this week," Sponsel said, casting an eye already to next week's game against highly-touted New Trier. "Our kids did not flinch after last week's difficult loss. It was a very business-like and methodical win."
As it was a loss for Hersey.
"We've got to find a way to get turnovers," said head coach Joe Pardun, whose team surrendered a pick and a fumble and was in the game until lightning struck in the second quarter.
"That second quarter, they really controlled the clock," he noted.
And the scoreboard.