Fremd uses defensive scores to spark win over Schaumburg

SCHAUMBURG – Fremd overcame a sluggish first half and blew past Schaumburg 48-6 Friday.

“It was not a very good first half of football,” said Fremd coach Lou Sponsel, whose team was hoping to come out early and make a statement after the Vikings’ disappointing loss to Palatine last week. “We came out and had a solid week of practice and solid warmups. It was little by little, one thing on top of each other. It wasn’t totally destructive.”

Fremd (7-1, 3-1) got great play from its defense. Led by Will Klimas, Anthony D’Ambrosio, Alex Foreman, Luke McIlhon, Troy Pepe, Joe Gump and Tom O’Brien, Fremd allowed just 108 yards and did not give up a touchdown.

“Our defense plays hard,” Sponsel said. “We got after it pretty well.”

The first half wasn’t a complete bomb thanks to the Fremd defense. The Vikings came up with a pair of big plays to propel the Vikings to a 27-6 halftime lead.

The first came when Schaumburg attempted a reverse. The Saxons misplayed the handoff thanks to D’Ambrosio. That made Klimas quite opportunistic. He picked up the loose ball and raced 19 yards to make it 7-0.

“I saw something today about fumble recoveries and how you have to pick it up and just run,” Klimas said. “That was awesome. Shout out to Anthony D’Ambrosio. He made that hit and then I saw that ball and I got on top of it and just went.”

Fremd followed up on its next possession with a 73-yard scoring drive. It was highlighted by a 29-yard scoring burst by Jayden Faulkner right up the middle to make It 13-0.

Schaumburg (5-3, 2-2) had an impressive drive to begin the second quarter. The Saxons had the ball for 16 plays and nearly six minutes. But it stalled at the Fremd 2-yard line when Schaumburg was penalized. To make matters worse, the Saxons missed a field goal and came up empty.

Fremd’s defense came up with its second scoring play in the first half. Joe Gump picked off a pass and raced down the far sideline 38 yards untouched and the Vikings appeared to be on their way.

“I was excited,” Gump said. “It was my first pick-six. Our defense has been working hard every day. I think we are playing pretty good.”

But Fremd was whistled for an unsportsmanlike penalty, which was assessed on the ensuing kickoff. Schaumburg made the Vikings pay even more when Javonte McCoy returned the kick 62 yards for a touchdown to make it 20-6.

Fremd got that touchdown back almost immediately. Johnny O’Brien found McIlhon over the middle. The senior tight end then scampered 56 yards for a touchdown and a 27-6 lead.

“I thought we played hard,” Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling said. “I thought our defense played real well in the first half. They had those two defensive scores and we couldn’t score a touchdown or a field goal when we had the chance.”

Fremd broke the game wide open with three consecutive scores in the second half.

O’Brien, who was 17 of 23 for 205 yards, threw two more touchdown passes. One went to Brennan Saxe that covered 18 yards, the other was a 46-yarder to Marquan Brewster. Tyler Gersic also tallied for Fremd on a 1-yard run.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241018/prep-football/fremds-defense-makes-big-plays-in-msl-win-over-schaumburg/