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Maine South pulls away from Fremd

Maine South came into Friday's contest against Fremd in Palatine with a quarterback who only had eight practices at the position and a running back who hadn't played the position since sixth grade.

Both contributed significantly to the Hawks' 35-21 win over the Vikings. Maine South is now 1-2.

Quarterback Dan Lazic looked in full command of the Maine South offense while rushing for 147 yards on 27 carries.

Ryan Kilburg, who normally starts at receiver for the Hawks, rushed for 174 yards on 16 carries and a pair of touchdowns.

"Those two are obviously very talented," said Maine South coach Dave Inserra. "And for them to come out and do this against a very good team with very little practice time was special."

The Vikings (1-2) shocked the crowd with a 74-yard touchdown pass on the game's first play. Ryan Saxe connected with his favorite target, Jack Hipchen, for the score. The extra point failed.

Maine South came right back on its first possession and marched 89 yards down the field. Kilburg scored from a yard out and John Sassan converted the point after.

Michael Sajenko scored later in the quarter for the Hawks to put them up 14-6 at the end of one.

The Vikings tied the game at 14-14 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Ryan Saxe run plus his successful 2-point conversion.

Maine South came right back with a 67-yard scoring run by Kilburg to put the Hawks up 21-14 at the half.

"Football is a pretty simple game," said Fremd coach Lou Sponsel. "If you block and tackle, you have a real good chance of winning. Maine South did and we didn't."

Maine South opened the second half with a 10-play, 72-yard drive, capped by a 4-yard touchdown run by Lazic. Sassan converted the extra point.

Fremd cut the lead to 28-21 with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Saxe to his brother Andrew. Connor Cox converted the point after.

Sajenko scored his second touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter to ice the game for the Hawks.

"We knew we had to control the clock in the second half, and our offensive line did a great job for our running game," Inserra said.

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