Glenbard N. tops Fremd

Asked to describe how he felt after Saturday's win over Fremd, a red-eyed Evan Watkins said, "I'm speechless."

He took everybody else's breath away, too.

Glenbard North's junior quarterback threw for 3 touchdowns and ran for 2 more in a back-and-forth Class 8A quarterfinal in Carol Stream. His 40-yard touchdown pass to Matt Ng with 1:22 left gave the Panthers a 32-28 win.

"His ability to run with the football, at 6-foot-6, run to his left and throw off one foot makes him a pretty important part of our offense," Panthers coach Ryan Wilkens said. "He did a heck of a job for us tonight."

After Mark Bappert's 40-yard field goal gave Fremd a 28-26 lead with 1:54 left, Glenbard North got the ball at midfield. On second down from the Fremd 40, Watkins had the option to run for the first down from the shotgun. Instead he rolled left, and off one foot he hit Ng in stride in the end zone.

"It was a great pass by Evan -- couldn't have been more on target," Ng said. "Great players make great plays."

Fremd quarterback Mark Tolzien, who completed 17 of 33 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown, drove the Vikings (11-1) to the Glenbard North 32 in the final minute. A pass into the end zone for Mike Koeneman on fourth down was just overthrown.

"We teach in our program to fight to the finish," Fremd coach Mike Donatucci said. "It's a game of inches, and we came up just short."

Watkins, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 195 yards, used his legs to pull Glenbard North to within 15-13 in the final minute of the first half. He eluded two Fremd defenders in the backfield and scrambled for a spectacular 25-yard touchdown run.

Tolzien threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Mike Tauchman in the third quarter, but Watkins came back with a 36-yard bullet strike to Carl Gerrick to make it 22-20.

After a Bappert field goal, Watkins gave Glenbard North its first lead at 26-25 on a 10-yard touchdown run. He escaped pressure on a broken play and tiptoed past two defenders to the end zone.

"When things break down, I like to scramble," Watkins said. "It's just an instinct."

"He's a phenomenal athlete, and a winner," Donatucci said. "This time of year you have to make plays, and he did."

Nick Hillard ran for 106 yards on 22 carries and 2 scores for Fremd. Glenbard North's Tyler Doll ran for 108 yards on 18 carries.

Glenbard North (8-4), which needed a win over West Aurora in Week 9 just to get into the playoffs, now is in the semifinals for the first time since 2000. The Panthers next play Mt. Carmel at Chicago's Gately Stadium.

"It is amazing," Ng said. "We worked as a team to finish this season off and now we're going to Mt. Carmel."