Fremd glad to have McGlade
According to his coach, Jeff McGlade is the type of player that won’t ever leave the field.
Unless he has to, of course.
Cramps forced McGlade out of the game for a short while, but that was about the only thing that could derail the Fremd running back.
McGlade ran for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns on 28 carries, helping Fremd top Barrington 24-7 at Hale Hildebrandt Field in a Mid-Suburban West divisional opener.
Rain and chilly temperatures made for less than ideal conditions for a passing attack, which was just fine for Fremd (3-2, 1-0).
The Vikings’ intentions were clear early as McGlade had 15 yards on his first carry, and on Fremd’s third possession, the junior burst through the middle for a 55-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 1:11 left in the first quarter.
“It’s always nice to get it going (early),” McGlade said. “With the rainy conditions, we are going to run the ball a little bit more. That’s what Fremd football is. Pound the ball.”
McGlade began to wear down Barrington (2-3, 0-1) in the second quarter behind an offensive line of Brad Ruerhdanz, Clayton Dukewich , Kyle Gregory, Joe Fasanella, Scott Hoffman, Jr. and fullback William Money, Jr. He had runs of 7, 12 and 9 yards before his 1-yard plunge put the Vikings up 14-0 44 seconds before halftime.
“We challenged our kids up front to execute,” said Fremd coach Lou Sponsel. “We had a lot of mental mistakes last week (in a 27-14 loss to Meadows) that we ironed out. We were much more fundamentally sound tonight.”
Aside from Daniel Kubiuk’s 70-yard dash up the middle in the third quarter, the Vikings held the Broncos to just 108 yards of total offense. And Barrington didn’t manage to get any points out of Kubiuk’s run because Thomas Glassgow made a touchdown-saving tackle on the 9-yard line. Then the Fremd defense forced a field goal attempt, which was missed.
“The kids feel confident,” Sponsel said. “When kids know what to do, they play fast on Friday night. When they’re fast, they’re a tough ‘D’.”
Garrett Groot (10 carries, 47 yards) was able to spell McGlade for a bit in the backfield and helped set up Sam Beutler’s 5-yard touchdown run that gave the Vikings a 24-0 fourth quarter lead.
Kubiuk scored the Broncos’ lone touchdown with 2:10 remaining in the game and finished with 125 yards on 13 carries.
“Our kids came in and were focused, but we just didn’t capitalize,” said Barrington coach Joe Sanchez. “We had some plays that we needed to execute on and we didn’t string enough of them (together).”