Perna returns, makes impact for Fremd

Big Ben is back.

And Fremd senior Ben Perna appears to be as good as ever after missing the first 3 games because of injury. The relentless three-year varsity starter has quickly made his presence felt with 3 sacks and 7 tackles for losses in 2 games.

In Saturday's thrilling 37-35 Mid-Suburban West victory over Schaumburg, Perna had 2 sacks and 4 tackles for losses.

"I was trying to convince Mike (Fremd coach Donatucci) that Perna should wait until Week 6 to come back," Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling joked before the game.

Donatucci was glad to have him back just in time for narrow wins over Rolling Meadows and Schaumburg.

"As soon as we put him in the pass rush, having him on the field was a plus," said Donatucci, who has used Perna at linebacker and defensive end. "There's a confidence factor. The kids respect him because he gives you 100 percent all the time.

"He gave us a pass rush (against Meadows) without having to send (extra) people. He helped the secondary and the linebackers. He helped everything."

Confidence games: Going for it on fourth down seven times in one game would likely be considered pretty rare. Converting all seven is downright amazing.

But that's what Fremd did in a variety of situations Saturday against Schaumburg.

"We're confident we could gain at least 5 yards on every play," said Fremd senior tackle Jeff Bobek, "as long as we executed."

Understandable confidence with a line led by Bobek, Jimmy Norris, Brian Bobek, Christian Lombard and Mark Colgan that averages 250 pounds.

Mike Gyetvay ran for 3 yards on fourth-and-1 on the first touchdown drive of 61 yards. Evan Wright sprinted 67 yards for a 21-0 lead on a fourth-and-2.

Gyetvay got 2 yards on fourth-and-1 at its own 44 and Andrew Corso made a leaping grab of Zennon Kolakowski's 22-yard pass on fourth-and-2 in a 65-yard drive that made it 28-7 at halftime.

And on the Vikings' final touchdown drive, quarterback Mike Tauchman went for 4 yards from punt formation on fourth-and-2, Wright got 12 yards on fourth-and-2 at midfield and Tauchman capped it with a 15-yard touchdown on fourth-and-9.

"We had to keep their defense off the field," said Fremd coach Mike Donatucci.

And Donatucci and his staff didn't hesitate to send Brett Opitz on the field with only 10 seconds left to kick the game-winning field goal.

"I had a feeling he was going to pull through," Bobek said of Opitz's first field goal attempt of the season.

"He got an opportunity and he took advantage of it," Donatucci said. "I give him a ton of credit.

"He wasn't even on the radar as a kicker at the beginning of the year. For him to come through like that was just huge."

Overcoming tough start: Getting only 1 first down on its first 3 possessions put Schaumburg in a 21-point hole against Fremd.

"We didn't believe in ourselves at first," said Schaumburg receiver Josh Spandiary, who caught 11 passes for 134 yards and 3 touchdowns. "Once we got the first touchdown we realized we can do it."

A sweet move by Diante Hackler on a quick out from Anthony Iannotti turned into a 37-yard touchdown that got Schaumburg on the board. Iannotti continued to show his maturity and ability as he completed 22-of-28 passes for 299 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Iannotti has now completed 75 percent of his passes (79-for-105) for 1,006 yards, 13 touchdowns and no interceptions.

"Our line did great, Anthony threw the ball well and we did everything right," said Spandiary, who now has 33 catches for 393 yards and 5 TDs.

"That little running back (sophomore Shepard Little) has grown up pretty fast," said Fremd coach Mike Donatucci. "Spandiary is tough and they've got a nice combination there. (Offensive coordinator Mark) Steger did a nice job of mixing it up."

Wildcats strike back: Wheeling didn't stop believing last Friday even when it fell into a 13-point hole against Rolling Meadows. The result was a tough 14-13 victory between last year's Mid-Suburban East co-champions.

"At halftime when were down 7-0 there wasn't one person on the whole team hanging their heads," said Wheeling senior safety Mike Barton. "We knew if we came out and played hard it would be our game."

And the Wildcats knew it would take their best effort against a Meadows team that arguably would be one of the best in the state with a 2-3 record.

"Holy cow, they're fast, they'r big and you've got to contain them," said Wheeling coach Dave Dunbar. "We just had to sustain the effort.

"They just played hard. The offensive line did really well and I was pleased with what we were doing up front."

That translated to the other side where junior Mike Widmer had 2 sacks and a tackle for loss.

"We knew he was going to be good," Dunbar said. "He's just a tough kid. He came up big a number of times."