Marist puts and end to Fremd's state playoff run
The comfort zone.
It's where football teams like to play "their games," or do what they do best, that is, all game long, settling into a groove and making everything click like clockwork.
Marist refused to let Fremd get comfortable Saturday night in their Class 8A quarterfinal matchup at the Vikings field and it showed in something of an upset 28-16 victory for the visitors, who will move on to play Glenbard North in the semifinals next weekend.
"We tried to take them away from what they're comfortable with," said youthful Marist (10-2) coach Pat Dunne, 28, after limiting the Vikings to a very un-Fremd-like 120 yards on 42 brutally contested carries.
Star tailback Even Wright, who usually surpasses that number by himself, had just 106 on 25 carries. Fremd's vaunted offensive line found itself staring at eight or nine defenders in the box regularly all night.
And while Marist's defense was doing that most of the evening, its offense operated full throttle on the arm, options and weapons of Mike Perish, the senior quarterback who came in with more than 2,700 yards passing this season. He showed why, going 23-of-31 for 286 yards, no picks and 3 touchdowns.
From the sideline pass that allowed Nick Valla to put breakaway moves on would-be tacklers for a 44-yard game-opening score to the fourth-quarter, perfectly tossed fade to Dan Piko in the rear right corner of the end zone, Perish was poison for Fremd. He even added an 8-yard run on an option play for a TD of his own.
"We've got a great quarterback and great receivers," said Dunne, including Piko (8 receptions, 82 yards) and Valla (5 receptions, 93 yards).
But while their offense did what it has done all year, the defense handled Wright and Co., like no one else has all year.
"We got outplayed," said disappointed Mike Donatucci, Fremd's head coach, who failed for the fourth time to get out of the quarters. "We had our opportunities in the second half."
Like the second half drive that broke down inside the Marist 30 after a loss on a blitz left the Vikings in a nearly impossible fourth-and-long. And there was the interception by Dave Pirkle, in the end zone, after he outwrestled Wright for a slightly under-thrown ball.
More disappointing for Fremd (11-1) was never getting the running attack going. That left the game on quarterback Rich Concialdi's shoulders and he responded with some solid passing to Wright, for a 24-yard TD, and to two-way star Jayme Szafranski (6 receptions, 91 yards).
Concialdi finished 18-of-33 for 233 yards, but two picks and that many attempts told the story for a Fremd team that likes to wear you down with it mammoth offensive line. A third turnover, a muffed punt, left Marist with a short field and wound up with Perish's perfectly lifted fade for a touchdown to Piko.
"We had awesome schemes," especially on defense, said Piko, who is Marist's answer to Fremd's Szafranski. "We played like it was our last game."
For Fremd, unbeaten coming in, it was.
"All year, we've been a second-half team," said Szafranski. "You can't do that in the playoffs. You dig yourself in a hole like that, it's tough."
Even tougher was surrendering the dream of an unbeaten, championship season.
"In all the history of Fremd, this was the team that could've done it," he said, holding his emotions in check. "They took us out of our comfort zone."
"They took us out of our game plan," said Donatucci. "It hurts."