Sustaining tradition does matter

No one wants to be the blip, burp or aberration in the Fremd football program.

They don't want to be the ones to break a run of playoff appearances that is a win away from officially reaching a Mid-Suburban League record 13 in a row.

And they definitely want their streak of MSL West titles to reach three in a row outright and five straight overall.

"One thing coach (Mike Donatucci) stressed is the conference championship has been at Fremd for a long time," said Fremd senior left tackle Bert Blodgett. "We didn't want to be the ones to give it up. We said (Wednesday) we weren't giving it up."

The Vikings opened West play Thursday night in championship fashion against their closest competitor the last two years.

And they responded to an early deficit the way champions do with a 35-14 win over Barrington before a big crowd at Tom Frederick Field.

"That's what we love," senior defensive end Bryan Opitz said of these big games. "It's what we live for."

Not to mention thrive in for a team that started the season with wins over Class 7A powers Lake Zurich and Prospect.

And after surviving some early struggles that included injuries, the Vikings' offensive line of Blodgett, Carl Comstock, James Norris, Kevin Fallon, Christian Lombard and Jason Ford showed its full strength.

"I assume they're healthy -- if they aren't that's scary," said Barrington coach Joe Sanchez after they paved the way to 408 total yards.

Yet similar results would be expected regardless of who is on the field.

"Our coaches emphasize it's a team game," Blodgett said. "In practice if someone goes down, we expect the next guy to go out and do the job like the starter would."

That's why junior Mike Gyetvay is following the lead of Jake Smith, who was one of last year's big surprises.

Gyetvay has gone from third-down back to feature attraction as he rushed for a career-high 160 yards and 3 touchdowns on 29 carries.

"That kid's got a lot of heart," Blodgett said.

So does Opitz, who didn't play a down last year and languished on the sidelines as a sophomore. But Opitz was determined to be a part of something special -- particularly with fellow wrestlers John LaPointe and Ben Perna up front.

Now Opitz is a major contributor to a defense that allowed Barrington only 64 second-half yards.

"I did everything I could and LaPointe taught me a lot," Opitz said. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Which is on the way to its usual spot in the postseason.