Clark, Fremd continue impressive start, dominate Metea Valley

The year 2026 has been declared “The Year of the Quarterback” in the state of Illinois — and with good reason. The Land of Lincoln boasts ties to three of the top five signal callers in the country.

But if you're a fan of the team from Quentin Road, two miles south of the tracks in Palatine, it'd be understandable if you came into the fall asking yourself, “Year of the Quarterback? Wasn't that last season?”

Two-time MSL Player of the Year and Big Ten-commit Johnny O’Brien graduated. His departure resulted in a summer of uncertainty. Despite trading blows with eventual 8A champion Mount Carmel in the state semifinals last November, Fremd was omitted from most preseason top-20 lists this August.

People simply didn't know what to expect from junior quarterback Will Clark.

Through three weeks, however, it looks like the Vikings are in safe hands — as Clark guided Lou Sponsel’s 2-0 squad with a 31-7 win over Metea Valley on Friday night. The game went under delay to lightning with 5:33 remaining in the third quarter and eventually called.

“Our players know who we have, and we know what we're capable of,” said Sponsel from the sideline as the crowd raced for cover.

“I get that we weren't ranked, and we lost some key seniors, but we have a lot of kids coming up through our system that are pretty darn good football players,” he added. “It's just a matter of just going out and executing and playing our brand of football.”

It was an inauspicious start for Fremd, as Metea Valley’s junior transfer Iggy Amorrortu led his offense under center to open the game and punched in an 11-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0 early.

However, after coming into the evening 34-for-51 with 535 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a sparkling 106.3 rating after a week two win over Glenbrook South, Clark got back to work immediately once his offense took possession.

He found Ben Riddle on a long pass to set up a 1-yard Raizo Ruiz plunge to even things up.

The junior signal caller then did it again on the next drive, this time connecting with Carter MacDonald for 40 yards to bring the Vikings to the Mustangs 6, where Jayden Faulkner took two carries before rumbling in for another 1-yard score.

If Fremd has found its new helmsman under center, conference play could be smooth sailing for the once-unranked Vikings.

MacDonald, a 6-foot-3 senior, has been Fremd’s go-to target as the Vikings sprint toward Mid-Suburban League play.

The chemistry has been building quickly between Fremd’s new offensive nucleus.

Faulkner popped in for his second score of the night shortly before the storms arrived.

Next up is a matchup against Prospect on Thursday.

“You line up against Prospect and they're a really, really good team,” added Sponsel.