Strange play goes Schaumburg’s way
It took one of the strangest plays imaginable to decide the winner in Friday’s Mid-Suburban West football game at Fremd.
It was so strange, in fact, that neither coach had seen anything quite like it.
After an Andrew Stark 22-yard field goal in overtime gave the host Vikings their only lead of the game, Schaumburg quarterback Stacey Smith pulled off a play that won’t be soon forgotten.
Fremd (3-3, 1-1) was looking for a stop on third-and-goal from the 5 that might have forced Schaumburg to attempt a tying field goal. Schaumburg (3-3, 1-1) was looking to end the game and head home with its first Mid-Suburban West victory of the season.
Smith (17 carries, 84 yards) fumbled the ball after the snap. After regaining possession, he headed to his left, where several Fremd defenders seemingly had him corralled. However, the speedy Smith eluded all the tacklers and scooted down the sideline for the winning touchdown in the 26-23 Saxon victory.
“I just got the ball and went,” said Smith, who was mobbed by his teammates after crossing the goal line. “I didn’t want to go down. This game, we held it all together.”
“I’m incredibly proud of our kids,” Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling said. “We encountered some adversity this week, and I’m proud of the way they hung together.
“We’ve grown up a ton in the last six weeks,” Stilling said. “The kids needed to finish on top after the last 3 weeks (all losses).”
“They came out with emotion, and we weren’t ready for that punch,” Fremd coach Mike Donatucci said. “Our tackling was horrible tonight. Credit Schaumburg; they played a hard physical game.”
Fremd forced the overtime by driving 71 yards in 15 plays. A.J. McGhee (33 carries, 101 yards) scored his second touchdown of the game, a 1-yard run that came with just 1:09 left in the fourth quarter.
The Saxons led virtually the entire game. They drove the opening kickoff 80 yards in 10 plays to score on Sadaris Patterson’s 1-yard run with 7:53 left in the first quarter. Patterson (18 carries, 122 yards) scored minutes later after Josh Marchok recovered a fumble on Fremd’s second play.
On fourth-and-5 from the 23, Patterson broke loose for his second touchdown of the game to make it 14-0.
“All the credit goes to the O-line,” Patterson said. “They work hard every day.”
Bill Tomaszewski, Max Wiers, Justin Sanchez and Matt Stopka helped pave the way for 226 yards on the ground.
Fremd got on the board with 9:56 left in the half on a 1-yard run by McGhee that capped a 70-yard, 13-play drive.
Stark kicked field goals of 34 and 25 yards, cutting the lead to 14-13. When Patterson scored on his second 23-yard run with 5:59 left in the fourth quarter, the missed point after left the door open for Fremd, and the Vikings took advantage of the opportunity to tie the game.