Something new: Fremd's boys make Elite Eight

It was a case of something old and something new for Fremd boys water polo coach Brian Newby.

Old: A Newby-coached Fremd team advancing to the state's Elite Eight. He'd coached the Vikings girls team to four straight before taking over the boys program this year.

New: Fremd's boys team will playing in the Elite Eight for the first time after a tense 6-2 victory over Schaumburg in the sectional championship hosted by the Saxons on Saturday afternoon.

The top-seeded Vikings got 2 goals from seniors Andre Degla and Ryan Helsdingen in a game where every possession counted.

Ultimately, Fremd's attention to defensive detail and skill at completing possessions made the difference in the game.

"It definitely was different this year, because I'm asking guys to trust my philosophy, my approach to the game," said Newby. "I had them doing double practices, a lot of training they hadn't done, and they just had to buy in. You know, I told them there are no guarantees that we're going to win conference or get to state. All I could really promised them was that we'd be better. But they believed, and that's why we were able to do it."

Fremd junior JP French had the difficult task of playing offensive hole opposite hulking Schaumburg hole defender Matt McMullen. French was able to score the first goal of the second half on a rebound of a Degla shot that hit the crossbar; that put the Vikings up 4-1, which in a game like this one seems like an awful lot.

"He's so tough in there," said French of McMullen's defense. "We had to rotate other guys in to kind of give me a break."

One training tactic Newby uses to prepare for games is practicing while clothed in jeans and sneakers. The move paid off for the Vikings and especially French, who is clearly one of Fremd's top players but did not earn all-conference recognition.

"It didn't really give me any extra motivation," said French, "but I just wanted to show people that I'm a quality player and we're a quality team."

The game marked the end of the road for a terrific bunch of seniors from Schaumburg (18-8), many of whom were key players last season on a team that made the Elite Eight.

Saxons coach Brian Ragano called three-year varsity standout Randy Carr the Mid-Suburban League's best defensive player. Carr answered Degla's first goal in the second period with one of his own to tie the game at 1.

Also moving on will be key Schaumburg players Marty Kwiatkowski, who had 1 goal, and David Nytko.

Fremd (26-6) next meets Sandburg (27-6), which edged Stagg 11-10 on Saturday, in a 4:30 p.m. state quarterfinal Thursday at Stevenson High School. A win there would guarantee the Vikings two more games Saturday.