Drama, thrills and heartbreak as Fremd's magical run ends

Mark Tolzien was on the turf and unable to see the result of his pass with a half a minute to play Saturday night.

The Fremd senior expected to pick himself up and race over to celebrate a thrilling ending with teammate Mike Koeneman in an incredible and drama-filled Class 8A state quarterfinal at Glenbard North.

After all, the Vikings just seemed to have that kind of magic with wins by 2 and 3 points in their first two playoff games.

So you expected Fremd's dynamic duo of Tolzien and Koeneman to click one more time on fourth down at the Glenbard North 32.

"Mikey is going to make a play," Tolzien said. "He's going to make a play."

Unfortunately for the Vikings, they just missed the mark on a deep post pattern and the best football season in school history came to a heartbreaking 32-28 end.

"A tough way to go out," said Fremd coach Mike Donatucci of a team that finished with a school record 11 wins and third trip to the state quarterfinals.

"We had our chances," Tolzien said. "We just couldn't come through."

They hoped to be the first Fremd team to break through to the semifinals. There were plenty of times it appeared a trip to Gately Stadium to face Mt. Carmel next weekend was on the horizon.

But Glenbard North quarterback Evan Watkins had a different plan.

The 6-foot-6 junior will be getting a lot more big-time attention in the not-so-distant future. He looked like Brett Favre with his ability to get the ball deep downfield and on the money -- even when he was on the move and making seemingly impossible throws against his body.

"He's a heck of an athlete," Donatucci said after Watkins produced impressive touchdowns on a 10-yard scramble and 40-yard heave in the final 8:03.

"He's a very good player," Tolzien said. "He's going to have a bright future."

But so does Tolzien with his ability on the field and in the classroom. The same is true for senior linebacker Nick Hillard, who produced one of the guttiest performances you'll see.

With junior 1,000-yard rusher Mike Gyetvay out with a right elbow injury that won't require surgery, Hillard stepped in and rushed for nearly 100 yards. He broke 3 tackles on his 27-yard touchdown run and blasted through two defenders for a 5-yard score.

"I can't say enough things about that kid," Donatucci said. "He's just a tough competitor. People just feed off him and he's a winner.

"He deserved better tonight."

And that's what made the ending so bitter.

"These kids deserve to be playing next week," Donatucci said.

"The heart and desire to win … I've never seen anything this amazing before," Tolzien said. "The desire and how badly these kids wanted it, how badly everyone wanted it.

"It was a great game and it stinks a lot, but it's more than just a game. We'll carry that the rest of our lives and that's what this program is about."