Fine outcome for Fremd
One way to describe the performance of Fremd on Friday? Nearly flawless.
In their final Mid-Suburban League crossover matchup, the Vikings stretched their winning streak to three in a 49-0 victory at Buffalo Grove.
Perhaps most impressive was the three-headed offensive monster Fremd unleashed: senior wideout Jawan Gaines, senior running back Darius Burchett and junior quarterback Cordell Finley.
When it was all said and done, they'd accumulated 6 touchdowns between the three of them.
Burchett first ran for a 32-yard touchdown, then scored from 7 yards out in the first quarter.
Gaines soon joined the rushing party, galloping for a 77-yard TD along with a 6-yard run. He displayed stellar vision and strength as he followed his blockers, breaking numerous tackles. Gaines, however, downplayed his 4-touchdown output and emphasized the Vikings' winning streak.
“It's just another day at the office,” Gaines said. “The coaches do a good job on technique, outside blocks and focusing on making us receivers do a good job. We're happy about the win tonight, but we have to keep going. We'll be prepared for next week.”
Finley showed his athleticism in the ground game and also threw strikes to Gaines, who had TD catches of 51 yards and 25 yards.
“Three people helped me during this week,” Finley said. “I have to give a shout out to Coach Patton who has confidence in me, (junior quarterback) Justin Castillo who always gives good criticism, and Andrew Billard. (Castillo and Billard) are like coaches to me.”
“(Gaines) is always the fastest guy on the field. I love passing this guy the ball.”
The Fremd defensive unit and special teams were firing on all cylinders as well. The defense held Buffalo Grove to a total 73 yards. The Vikings were consistently providing pressure in the trenches as they finished with 6 sacks and got a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown by sophomore defensive back Jake Haas.
Vikings senior Ryan Haas blocked a punt, which helped Fremd score 22 seconds before the end of the first half.
“We try to stay balanced,” said Fremd coach Lou Sponsel. “It's nice to have a lot of weapons. We have great athletes that give a lot of effort on the field in all phases. We look at film to try and find the weaknesses and strengths of our team. We get the ball in our athletes' hands and let them roll.”
Buffalo Grove (2-2) had issues on offense, probably heightened by the the loss of junior quarterback Trey Cervantes to injury in the second quarter.
Buffalo Grove just could not find a way to match Fremd'd offensive firepower.
“We got our butts kicked,” said Buffalo Grove coach Mike DiMatteo. “They played better than us, but they've got a lot of athletes on the field. We have to move on.
“It always hurts when you lose a key player (Cervantes). We're coming out there next week at 2-2 and we could have easily been 3-1. We will go back to work and make adjustments when we go to play the (MSL) East. The good thing about our guys is that they love the game and they are fighters.”
Buffalo Grove moves on to play Elk Grove, while Fremd will square off against Hoffman Estates.