Lake Zurich denies stubborn Fremd
It would seem that defensive touchdowns are way easier to dream of than to actually get in reality.
Star linebacker Luke Dwyer has made his mark many, many times over for the Lake Zurich defense, and he's parlayed that stellar play into a scholarship to FCS powerhouse and defending national champion North Dakota State.
But one thing that Dwyer had only been able to dream of was a defensive touchdown. Until Friday night, that is.
Dwyer closed the door on a tight season opener against visiting Fremd when he picked off a pass in Fremd's final attempts to tie the game and returned the interception about 65 yards for a 20-7 Lake Zurich victory in a persistent misting rain that kept the field and ball wet and slippery.
“I've been dreaming about that play for the longest time,” Dwyer said. “I got it and I didn't even really believe I had the ball at first. I was like, 'Just run!' There was no way I was going to get caught. I just had to score.”
The Bears, who started last season with a victory over Fremd went 13-0 before losing to Batavia in the Class 7A state championship game in overtime.
Fremd went just 1-8 last year and was determined to put that record fully in the rearview mirror with a strong start in 2018.
The Vikings, older and healthier now, did just that, hanging with the defending state runner-up Bears quarter for quarter.
The Fremd defense was tough, keeping the Lake Zurich offense relatively in check and forcing a 7-7 halftime tie. The Bears clung to a 13-7 lead for most of the second half and struggled to put Fremd away.
“They came out ready to play,” Dwyer said of Fremd. “I can admit that maybe I took them a little lightly in the first half after last year. But at halftime we really cranked things up and made some adjustments to help us win the game.”
The Bears relied heavily on their defense last year, and it delivered by allowing a North Suburban Conference-low 9.9 points per game. With eight starters back, Dwyer and the rest of his defensive buddies knew that they would be counted on to set the tone again, especially with a lot of new faces on offense.
“Every Week 1 game is going to be a learning curve with things,” Dwyer said. “Our defense has a lot of experience back with eight returning starters. We knew it would be growing pains for our offense, so we (the defense) knew we had to come into the game and step it up big time.
“If they can't score on you, they can't win. We knew we had to play really stout defense.”
Fremd did get some nice offensive plays out of junior quarterback Andrew Saxe. He rushed for a team-high 93 yards and threw a touchdown pass for the Vikings' only score.
Saxe connected with Jack Hipchen for a pretty 53-yard touchdown just before halftime.
For Lake Zurich, Thomas Vages and Jack Moses scored Lake Zurich's other touchdowns, both on rushing plays inside the 2-yard line.
Vages led the Bears with 106 rushing yards.
“This is exactly how our game against Fremd went last year, too,” Lake Zurich coach Luke Mertens said. “It was a back-and-forth game and neither offense got going very much last year and it was pretty much the same thing this year.
“I'm not surprised. We felt very strongly that this was going to be a one-score game either way. They're a great team and they're well-coached and we knew they were going to give us some troubles and they did. They had the running game going at times with their quarterback and they were pretty stout against our run game.
“We knew Fremd was going to come back strong this year. That's a prideful program and we knew we were going to see a great effort today and we did but we survived it. The defense kept us in the game the whole time and that's what you need to happen at times.”
Lake Zurich's first four games this season will be played at home.
In Week 2, the Bears host Nazareth Academy — ranked third in the preseason in Class 7A by the Associated Press, one spot ahead of Lake Zurich.
In Week 3, Lake Zurich hosts Zion-Benton, and in Week 4 Lake Forest visits the Bears.
Fremd hosts Hersey in a Week 2 nonconference matchup before playing a pair of games against Central Suburban foes. The Vikings travel to New Trier in Week 3 and host Glenbrook South in Week 4.
Editors note: Reporter Patricia Babcock McGraw is the mother of Lake Zurich quarterback Matt McGraw.