Vikings don't stop believing

This wasn't the kind of excitement Kevin Krieter had in mind.

But the Fremd senior linebacker was pretty charged up when Stevenson got in position to charge all the way back in their rainy Class 8A football playoff opener Friday night in Palatine.

"When I saw the interception I said, 'It's our time to shine,'" Krieter said.

It's an attitude and belief one would expect from an unbeaten team in its 13th straight playoff appearance.

First-and-goal with Stevenson just 9 yards from wiping out Fremd's 2-point lead midway through the fourth quarter?

"We always find a way to come through difficult situations," said Fremd senior lineman Chris Vincent. "It doesn't matter who it is."

It was Krieter separating Michael Bilton from the ball on third down. It was Mike Tauchman falling on it at Fremd's 11 with 5:42 left.

Nine Mike Gyetvay runs and a Mark Tolzien quarterback sneak out of powerhouse formation later and Fremd was alive and well with a 21-19 victory.

"Whenever we need a play we get it and go for it," said Fremd middle linebacker Nick Hillard.

Fremd seemed to have everything going for it in the first half of another close matchup between two perennial playoff qualifiers.

Tolzien couldn't miss and didn't on touchdown tosses to Michael Koeneman and Tauchman. Mike Gyetvay was doing his part with the power running game and the defense was making plays for a 21-7 halftime lead.

The second half was a totally different story.

Stevenson put together drives and Fremd couldn't move the ball. Crucial penalties led to the game taking a 180-degree turn.

And then came the interception where running back Derrick Walker made one of the biggest tackles of the year to keep Bilton from of the end zone.

This is where teams accustomed to winning don't wind up losing faith.

"We've all been together since first and second grade since we started playing football, this core of players," Vincent said. "It doesn't matter who it is, we always find a way to win."

Vincent and Jonathan Diegel stopped Geoffrey Matthews for a 1-yard loss. Then Krieter made a spectacular, leaping one-hand breakup of a pass at the goal line.

And moments later, the ball popped loose and Fremd's faith was rewarded.

"I flew," Hillard said with a smile. "I think I hit Tauchman harder than I hit anybody else in the whole game."

So much for a 13th straight playoff trip being unlucky.

"You've got to be lucky," said Fremd coach Mike Donatucci. "I've done this long enough that I'd rather lucky than good."

The Vikings didn't get the luck of the draw with a Stevenson team Vincent said was better than its 5-4 record. But a tough test to start with figures to be better in the long run for a team with plans to make one.

"We have four more to get baby," Krieter said.

"This is what we live for," Hillard said. "Our goal is state and this is just one step."