Fremd edges Lake Zurich

Fremd's punishing running game set the tone, and an opportunistic defense finished the job Friday night.

Senior Evan Wright was Fremd's workhorse, carrying the ball 44 times for 168 yards and the three-yard game-winning touchdown in the Vikings' 10-7 season opening football victory against Lake Zurich at Fremd's Hale Hildebrandt Field.

Wright's score came with 43.8 seconds remaining in the first half and capped a 10-play, 93-yard drive that took just 2:32.

"I'm gonna be very sore," Wright said. "During the game, we meshed together as one offensive unit. It's a great feeling to have those guys to block for you."

"He carried the load," Fremd coach Mike Donatucci said. "In the fourth quarter, we were stronger."

Quarterback Rich Concialdi completed first down passes of 40 and 15 yards to James Szafranski, and Wright carried 7 times for 38 yards. Concialdi, making his varsity debut, completed 9 of 17 passes for 144 yards. Szafranski caught 5 for 85 yards, 4 of which resulted in first downs.

Lake Zurich grabbed a 7-3 lead when Jacob Brinlee (14 carries, 165 yards and 3 receptions for 56 yards) broke loose around his right end and outraced the Fremd secondary for a 73-yard scoring run, just 17 seconds after Fremd's Kevin Schaeffer opened the scoring with a 25-yard field goal with 7:12 left in the first quarter.

"The hole opened up, I got a great kick out block, and that was it," said Brinlee.

Despite being dominated in the second half by running just 17 offensive plays to Fremd's 37, the Bears threatened until the game's final play.

Lake Zurich was victimized by 3 turnovers in the second half. Eric Shew intercepted a Peter Rantis pass deep in Fremd territory to kill a drive that reached midfield. Midway through the fourth quarter, Fremd stopped another Lake Zurich threat when Justin Wallace recovered a fumble on the Vikings' 40.

The final play of the game ended when Michael Sahli grabbed a fumble after Rantis completed a 10-yard pass to Tim Bavester.

"We knew early in the season, the defense would have to carry the offense," Donatucci said.

"Our lack of experience was very evident," said Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz. "We made mistakes in critical situations.

"They fought tooth and nail, and I couldn't be happier with the effort," Stortz said. "We just have to fix things. I think we have a good team."