Glenbard West wins faceoff with Fremd
Considering Glenbard West has two regular-season football defeats in the last seven years, the Hilltoppers' first game in Class 8A playoff action was not nearly as novel as might have been.
"We tell our kids to have faceless opponents," Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet said after junior running back Sam Brodner scored twice in leading the Hilltoppers past Fremd 34-14 Saturday afternoon in Glen Ellyn in a first-round game. "It's not as if we don't play 8A schools."
Glenbard West (10-0) will face Palatine, which beat higher-seeded Huntley 39-17, next weekend.
Fremd had its season close at 6-4.
The Hilltoppers ended any pretense of a Fremd upset on back-to-back 2-play drives in the second half.
Glenbard West quarterback Kyle Kramer and Ben Marcus collaborated on a 51-yard connection one play after defensive end Nate Orrison recovered a fumble near midfield.
"The ball scrambled around me on the ground for a while," Orrison said of his third-quarter recovery. "(Turnovers) are the mentality of our defense."
Brodner, who finished with a game-high 158 yards rushing on 13 attempts, then extended the Hilltoppers' 20-7 halftime cushion to 34-7 with touchdown runs of 1 and 90 yards.
The long burst came two plays after Fremd dropped a sure touchdown pass on fourth and goal.
"Everything was blocked up well," Brodner said of his untouched run along the left sideline. "All the running backs did very well today. The offensive line was opening up holes for all of us."
Five Glenbard West ball carriers combined for 282 yards on 32 attempts.
Brodner also had a 44-yard reception and 24-yard run to set up two other Hilltoppers scores: a pair of short Donahvon Vaughn plunges.
The first Vaughn touchdown gave Glenbard West a 13-0 lead after Sean Mackey opened the scoring with a 25-yard run on the Hilltoppers' first possession.
Fremd had success moving the ball, securing at least one first down on all of its possessions.
But the Vikings could not match the Hilltoppers' penchant for quick strikes from long distances.
Fremd was further addled when starting backs Darius Burchett and Cody Patenaude were severely limited in the second half by a shoulder and hip injury, respectively.
"They played at a different physical level than us," Fremd coach Lou Sponsel said. "They played a much faster game. We're not here just to make the playoffs. We need to get better."
Fremd made it a one-score game late in the opening quarter on a Burchett run from 7 yards, but the Vikings didn't score again until the waning seconds.
Nick Bosso connected with Kyle Lewis from 29 yards on the Vikings' final play from scrimmage.