Fremd defends their new turf

Last week, the offense came through in a high-scoring win against Schaumburg, so it was only fitting Fremd's defense would rise to the occasion in its first football game on Hale Hildebrandt Field's new field turf.

The Vikings held Conant scoreless for 3 after the opening drive and emerged 13-7 victors in a Mid-Suburban West matchup Friday.

Conant (3-3, 1-1) gained 67 of its 127 yards on offense in the game's opening drive, which was capped by quarterback Sean Smith's 22-yard run with 5:29 left in the quarter.

Fremd's attacking defense was led by outside linebacker Jon Diegel, who had 2 tackles for losses of 1 and 2 yards and a sack of Smith for another 14 yards on consecutive plays in the third quarter, immediately following Fremd's go-ahead touchdown, a 22-yard pass from Mike Tauchman to Zenon Kolakowski with 3:14 left in the quarter.

"We knew we could bring pressure and disrupt them," said Diegel. "We felt pretty good about the second half."

"He's the leader of our defense," Fremd coach Mike Donatucci said. "He's a smart kid, and he makes adjustments for us on the field. He's played every snap on defense for two years."

In the second half, Fremd limited the Cougars to just 3 first downs and kept them out of Viking territory until the final two minutes of the game.

That threat ended when junior James Szafranski intercepted his third pass of the season, allowing the Vikings to run out the clock.

"We brought him up last year, and he grasped what we're doing," Donatucci said. "He's playing like a senior.

"We were able to get pressure on them. That was a priority for us. Last week, (the defense was) playing not to lose, and tonight, they were playing to win."

"Every game has been like this," Conant coach Bill Modelski said. 'We've been right there every week. That's the kind of team we are.

"Our defense has one player over 200 pounds. They're flying around like fleas. We get knocked around on defense, but we keep plugging and plugging until we get a stop."

Fremd (5-1, 2-0), which is now eligible for its 14th straight playoff trip, tied the game at 7-7 with 1:13 left in the first half when Evan Wright (10 carries for 57 yards) finished off a 10-play, 76-yard all-rushing drive with a 15-yard run. He carried half of those plays for 47 yards.

Fremd's ground attack showed balance, with Tauchman leading the way with 69 yards on 17 carries and Mike Gyetvay carrying 12 times for 63 yards.

The winning touchdown pass was not surprising to Kolakowski, who also plays quarterback on some short-yardage situations.

"We wanted to get the running game established, to get their safeties and cornerbacks up, and then pass over them," Kolakowski said. "It was a corner route. We knew it would be open."