In theory, it was simple enough.
All No. 7 Barrington had to do was run out the clock in the final minute of the first half against sixth-ranked Fremd, and the Broncos would have the upper hand heading into the final 24 minutes of Friday`s battle of Mid-Suburban North unbeatens.
But one fumble was all it took for the Broncos to lose their momentum, and that miscue eventually cost them in Fremd`s 28-14 victory in Palatine.
The Vikings (7-0, 2-0) clinched a playoff spot in a remarkable turnaround from a 3-6 campaign in 1991 and also took over sole possession of first place. Barrington held a 14-7 lead and was looking to run the final minute off the clock in the half, until Jim McLaughlin was stripped of the ball with :26 left. Fremd`s Tim Lovell pounced on it at the Broncos` 39, and after a timeout, Fremd quickly tied the score. Rusty Mann turned a short reception into a 39-yard touchdown play, splitting between three Broncos defenders to go untouched to the end zone with :13 left.
”That was a killer,” said Barrington coach Al Kamradt. ”First the fumble, and then two guys miss a tackle (on Mann`s TD catch).”
Sparked by that unexpected opportunity, Fremd`s defense soon came up with the big plays when it counted in the second half, stopping the Broncos cold while the offense clicked for a pair of fourth-quarter scores.
Fremd QB Deron Birsa hit Jim Farrell for a 6-yard TD on a play-action fake with 8:31 left in the game for the go-ahead TD, and Fremd defensive back Spencer Palmer made his second interception with just under three minutes left to kill off the Broncos (6-1, 2-1) for good.
”We`re more of a second-half team,” said Palmer. ”We knew that if we could execute, we`d win the game.”
”It was wild,” said Fremd coach Joe Samojedny. ”In the first half, the defense needed something to ignite us, strange as that is for a game like this. But once the breaks started going their way, it brought us to another level.”
Fremd got another break when Barrington went for a first down on fourth-and-2 at their own 46 with 7 minutes left. A pitch to McLaughlin failed, however, thanks to a crunching blow by Richard Cordova that resulted in a 1-yard loss.
”A big mistake on my part,” said Kamradt. ”We should`ve punted. But with two good teams, one or two plays are going to turn the game around.”
After starting out by unsuccessfully trying to establish the ground game, the Broncos scored on their first pass attempt. Pat Jensen`s 50-yard touchdown pass to tight end Paul Trudeau put Barrington up 7-0 with 3:26 left in the first quarter.
Fremd marched 70 yards on its ensuing possession, fueled by a pair of first-down strikes from Birsa to receiver Mike Kelly. Robert Mackey, who added another TD later in the game, took it in from the 4 on the opening play of the second quarter to tie the score at 7-7.
Four minutes into the second quarter, a bad snap to punter Chris Barton resulted in a fumble, and the Broncos recovered at the Vikings 48. Their drive was seemingly stopped on a Jensen incompletion on third and 12, but a roughing-the-passer call on Fremd kept the Broncos alive.
