Fremd beats Broncos, keeps drive alive
The drive for five is still alive. Five wins and a winning record, that is.
Faced with win-or-else games the last three weeks, Fremd remained in the running for its 16th consecutive playoff berth and a possible MSL West co-championship with a 26-12 win over previously unbeaten Barrington on Friday.
The victory places Fremd, Barrington and Schaumburg atop the West with identical 3-1 division records, and should all three teams win next week, the Vikings would have the tiebreaker and earn the division title spot in the playoffs.
Not bad for a team that was 1-4, not a familiar or comfortable situation.
"This is our finest hour," said running back Justin Wallace, whose 223 yards on 31 carries produced touchdowns of 5 and 25 yards. "We've overcome adversity, and with a win next week, we'll be in the playoffs."
Fremd coach Mike Donatucci echoed that sentiment, but said the work isn't done.
"Now we have to seal it," he said. "The last two weeks, we're back to where we're supposed to be. The confidence of the kids is tremendous."
And the progress being made by freshman quarterback Sam Beutler has contributed to that. Against Barrington (7-1, 3-1), Beutler opened the scoring with a 29-yard run on a option play off right tackle.
Beutler (3-of-7 passing for 48 yards and 48 yards rushing on 13 carries) also completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Matt Metzen to give Fremd a 12-0 lead with 37.1 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
"We know what's on the line," Beutler said. "Fremd is known for going to the playoffs, and we didn't want to be the team not to."
"He's growing up fast," Donatucci said.
Wallace's running behind a dominant offensive line gave Fremd a breathing room in the fourth quarter. His 25-yard burst up the middle gave Fremd (4-4, 3-1) a 26-6 lead with 1:36 left in the game. It capped an 11-play drive in which he carried 10 times for 75 yards.
"He takes the pressure off me," Beutler said. "The O-line did a great job and pounded them the whole game."
"They're doing a great job," Wallace said. "They're blowing off the ball and giving me huge holes to run through."
Barrington scored twice in the fourth quarter, a 7-yard pass from Mark Bennett to Jeremy Rafidia with 8:09 left and a 1-yard run with 12.3 seconds left by Chase Murdock (30 carries for 167 yards), who saw his first action after missing 2 weeks with a foot injury.
"We couldn't put enough plays together," Barrington coach Joe Sanchez said. "We've got to help the defense, and we needed to punch one into the end zone."
Bennett relieved starter Matt LeMire, completing 5 of 8 passes for 72 yards and leading the Broncos on their 2 scoring drives.
"We were trying to shake it up," Sanchez said.