Fremd comeback stuns Palatine
Nothing has come easily this season for one of the Mid-Suburban League's premier football programs.
So why should Friday night be any different as Fremd saw its fight for its playoff life get even tougher in its cross-town clash before a huge crowd at Palatine?
The Vikings are trying to battle back from a 1-4 start and had to battle back from an 11-point halftime deficit. But they completed the second step of their drive for five wins with a dramatic 17-16 MSL West comeback victory.
“Our talks during practice have all been about one, said Fremd senior linebacker Michael Sahli, “because if we don't win one game our season is done.
And the Vikings (3-4, 2-1) showed they aren't done yet as they try to extend their MSL record of consecutive playoff appearances to 16. Another major challenge awaits next week when unbeaten Barrington pays a visit.
But the first order of business was overcoming a 14-3 deficit against a Palatine (4-3, 2-1) that would have liked nothing better than to be the team to end Fremd's run.
“It's been one more, not four more or three more or two more, said Fremd freshman quarterback Sam Beutler, who directed the second-half comeback.
An inadvertent whistle wiped out a 36-yard touchdown run by Beutler on the second play of the game and Fremd had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by freshman Andrew Stark. Palatine answered with as Jim Smearman (12 carries, 63 yards) had touchdowns on an 11-yard run and on a 10-yard pass from Cody Bobbit (17-for-26, 224 yards).
“The bottom line is we have to score some points in the second half, said Palatine coach Tyler Donnelly. “We put too much pressure on our defense.
Fremd came out to start the second half and hammered away with Justin Wallace behind Brian Bobek, Levi Jorgenson, Jerod Mikkelsen, Nick Loden, Evan Schaeffer, Jack Konopka and Dan Muehfeldt. Wallace (27 carries, 112 yards) converted two third-downs and Beutler capped the 65-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge on fourth down.
Vince Farella broke up a fourth-down end-zone pass and Fremd started marching again. This time, Beutler calmly hit Jeff Diegel on a 37-yard post pattern with 11:25 left in the game.
“We work all week on timing, said Beutler, who ran in for the conversion to make it 17-14. “It's so much easier to make reads when the line does a great job.
Matt Zerfass broke up another fourth-down end zone pass and Alex Van Duch intercepted a pass at the Fremd 1 with 2:55 left. Beutler took a safety with 25 seconds left and Bobbit returned the free kick 41 yards to the Fremd 39 at 0:17.
Bobbit hit Haze for 17 yards but with no timeouts, Dan Jump's rushed 39-yard field goal was short and Fremd started a wild celebration.
“These are the best kinds of games to be in, Bobek said.