Fremd's defense again stands tall
Elk Grove threw just about everything it could at the Fremd defense Friday night in Palatine, including running the fake punt play three times.
Very little, if anything, worked.
The Vikings held the Grenadiers to 171 yards of total offense in a dominant 16-0 Mid-Suburban crossover win.
"Our defense was ridiculous," said Fremd quarterback Cordell Finley, who rushed for 98 yards. "I can honestly say they're one of the best defenses in the area. I want to thank them for keeping us on the field and giving us a chance to score."
Elk Grove (0-3) played extremely well on defense also, and it was the Grens' defense that kept the contest close for much of the game.
"Our defense played great," said Grens senior Malko Odishoo. "We just weren't able to move the ball."
"I wasn't expecting this kind of day," added Odishoo, referring the constant rain that pelted the field the entire contest. "It caused a lot of turnovers."
The Grens had three of those miscues as they fumbled the ball away twice and threw 1 interception, but it was penalties that hit Elk Grove even harder.
The visitors committed 10 penalties for 110 yards, a total that included 4 critical late-hit flags.
"We came in to this game extremely prepared," said Vikings senior defensive back Kevin Schmoeller. "Every time we step on the field, we expect to win."
Elk Grove did get an early boost on offense. Pinned back to their 1-yard line, Grens quarterback AJ Lorenz hit Alexander Manahilov with a 30-yard pass down the middle.
That got Elk Grove out of a big hole, but their drive stalled, and Fremd (2-1) put the first points on the board in the second quarter with a 24-yard field goal by Brody Martin to take a 3-0 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Vikings defense didn't allow Elk Grove to come close to scoring, and played ball control on offense.
Running backs Darius Burchett (18 carries, 59 yards) and Cody Patenaude (10 carries, 103 yards) led the ground game and both scored second-half touchdowns, Patenaude on a thrilling 32-yard cutback run and Burchett 5 yards up the middle.
Two-way player Matt Wary of Elk Grove had 3 of the Grenadiers' 5 sacks and also contributed 35 yards rushing while while senior teammate Sean Fege threw for 72 yards in a backup quarterback role.
Schmoeller recorded the lone interception for Fremd, while Jeff Gill contributed to the pound and ground game with 27 yards rushing.
"This was one of the toughest games I've ever played in," said Finley. "I'd like to thank our running backs for running the ball the way they did, and our offensive line for blocking the way they did.
"They had my back even when I was making mistakes."