Fremd again in fine form
It's kind of scary to think how good Fremd could be if the Vikings fixed up their flaws.
If you can find any.
The Vikings looked nearly perfect in a 37-7 Mid-Suburban West win Thursday night at Schaumburg, moving to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the division. And they were as dominant as the score indicates, on both sides of the ball.
The defense kept Schaumburg (1-5, 0-2) off the board until late in the fourth quarter. The offense scored from everywhere, regardless of field position, thanks to its thunder-and lightning backfield duo of Darius Burchett and Cody Patenaude.
From their own 36, the Vikes scored in 5 plays to open the game on Burchett's 1-yard plunge. From their own 30, they scored in three plays, the finale being Burchett's 36-yard dash to paydirt. Then Patenaude took over, completing an 86-yard drive on just the sixth play, a 69-yard TD jolt. On Fremd's next possession, he produced electricity again as his 2-yard run finished a 75-yard drive on the 13th play with just 7.9 seconds left in the first half. Along the way, he had a 30-yard scamper.
All told, the thunder-and-lightning backfield produced 171 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns in a system managed smoothly by alternating quarterbacks Nick Bossong and Cordell Finley, who combined to go 6-of-8 for 120 yards. Bossong was 5-of-6 and Finley tossed a 40-yard TD dime to Pat Chen to close out Fremd's scoring in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Matt McCabe and Co. on defense were stifling Schaumburg, and Jake Haas had a pick.
It did not go unnoticed by Fremd coach Lou Sponsel.
“We're all about executing,” he said. “Our defense is solid. (Coordinator) Danny Davis does a great job.”
And Sponsel gets a read on his team every Tuesday, when the offense and defense go head to head in practice.
“The defense usually comes out ahead,” he said with a grin.
They came out ahead Thursday night too, limiting Schaumburg to 186 total yards. But the Saxons were within inches of changing the game. Unable to get good field position, they were also unable to sustain a drive, even after registering a few first downs on the work of Alex Kiszkowski, Olonzo Sally, Justice Macneal-Young and Michael Jones. And where the Saxons couldn't convert often enough in critical situations, Fremd could.
Bossong hit Kenneth Lyke for 65 yards on a third-and-16 on their first possession. Patenaude's 30-yard run to keep their fourth TD drive going came on a third-and-16 as well.
“They made some big plays on third down and we couldn't,” said Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling, who in his 10th year is not accustomed to a 1-5 mark. “I thought we had them stopped and they break two long ones.
“Fremd is a very good football team. I was proud of our kids and the way they fought.”
Sponsel feels the same about his, but he does recognize areas for improvement.
“We've got to get better in the passing game,” he said. “It's the little things. It's about minimizing mistakes.”
If they can find some.