Fremd observations....Anyone??
- Thread starter ssczar76
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Good program, had some good wins again this year, will hang with BR for a half, but BR speed will wear them down in the 2nd half and win by 21.
Tough defense, offense didn't get untracked until last 3 games of the season really. Close loses to 7-2 Lake Zurich, 8-1 Barrington, and 9-0 Palatine...so they beat who they were supposed to beat and probably lost the games that would be expected.
Run first philosophy due to HUGE offensive line, so very good QB sometimes underutilized. That said, they don't have a marquee RB so some games they get 200 yards on the ground, some games 90. In game against Palatine, Pirates d-line was often able to out-quick the OL , so they were held to 98 yards rushing. Generally short passing game which, again, seemed to underutilize a pretty good QB.
Senior class was 9-0 as freshman & sophomores, started junior year 4-0..but since then have gone 7-8. Agree with McCaravan above, will stay with BR for a while, but eventually BR will pull away.
Run first philosophy due to HUGE offensive line, so very good QB sometimes underutilized. That said, they don't have a marquee RB so some games they get 200 yards on the ground, some games 90. In game against Palatine, Pirates d-line was often able to out-quick the OL , so they were held to 98 yards rushing. Generally short passing game which, again, seemed to underutilize a pretty good QB.
Senior class was 9-0 as freshman & sophomores, started junior year 4-0..but since then have gone 7-8. Agree with McCaravan above, will stay with BR for a while, but eventually BR will pull away.
South Elgin was bigger than us last year and we handled them. Big and Strong doesn't mean tough and fast
If Smalling does not intercept a pass late, Rice losses to South Elgin last year.
In the same token, they handled Palatine for three quarters then lost their bearings and gave the game away due to poor clock management.
Fremd has hung with top level teams all year. This will be a close game if Rice's offense cannot stay on the field, turn the ball over or make dumb game management decisions.
I think he may be out this week - suffered what his coach called a bad injury in game before Hoffman Estates one.
Rice was up when smallings caught the INT. You cant really say they would of lost that game.
They lost to Palatine because they played the second half trying not to lose the game instead of trying to win. Bad pay calling had a part in that also
I was at the South Elgin game and Badke called the worst game I had ever seen. Rice had 7 point lead in 2nd half with chip shot to make it 2 score game and fake it to turn over on downs. Later in 4th quarter south elgin has one time out with 2:00 left and rice decides to thrown instead of run down the clock and end up throwing an interception. So if Smalling didn't jump through the sky and have that late INT Rice would of lost and should of lost. I was disgusted by badke in that game.
It was ONE of worst game I've seen coached. And I support all the Southland teams. I really like Rice's chances this year. They have tough road but I think that offense can beat anybody.
I think Badke is one of the best coaches in the high school game today
Keep in Ming he's only 40 and this is his head coaching gig. Don't be so harsh
Keep in Ming he's only 40 and this is his head coaching gig. Don't be so harsh
Does not matter if they are a Rice fan. I agree that the play calling was not very good in that game and Elgin was moving at will late in the game marching down the field. The Rice QB seemed to ratchet his running back in the playoffs and I am not certain if that was planned or if he was hurt.
The play calling came back to bite them the next week at Palatine when they could not run the clock down and stay on the field. Had they won at Palatine they would have had Loyola at home in crap weather...that was how Marist won that night.
I don't know if it is a chicken or egg conversation or live by the sword die by the sword but it appears that some play calling (happened last week at he half v LA) can still come back to get Brother Rice and is why I look at them as a team that could win 8A and just as easily lose Saturday. This is similar to Marist prior to last year.
Not to cross over to the MC thread but that is the difference in MC and Rice, MC can easily take the air out of the ball and when they get up, the game is over. There is really no second guessing the game plan. They keep their defense off the field and use the clock to their advantage.
I agree he is a great coach. I came off a lot more harsh then I wanted to. That is my bad. Good Luck to the Crusaders and coach Badke
Badke is a very good coach who is still learning. Holacek outcoached him in the recent game. The decision to not take a knee after getting sacked on 1st down and with 40 seconds prior to half turned out to be big on the board and in momentum shift. There were some other ones too but hey Holacek can be considered now to be the best coach in the Blue right now. Historically no - that would be Frank but as of right now Holacek is the best in the Blue
Not just the blue...the state.
Badke still seems to coach with too much emotion for my liking. He is not that young any more in years and experience.
A good couple of weeks can cure many things or exasperate them.
Holacek can be considered now to be the best coach in the Blue right now. Does not hurt to have the best talent either. But he is known for preparing his team's defense the best.
Will BR have a rematch with LA? They should make it to the third round depending which BR team shows up the next two weeks. If the BR team that beat Montini shows up they will see LA. If the team that was behind SR in the beginning 4rd quarter and gave up 42 to a MC team that was 0-4 in the CCL they lose on of the next two.
Prediction is they play LA again but lose in a lower scoring game than the first. LA home field advantage the coaches abilities make LA a favorite.
Will BR have a rematch with LA? They should make it to the third round depending which BR team shows up the next two weeks. If the BR team that beat Montini shows up they will see LA. If the team that was behind SR in the beginning 4rd quarter and gave up 42 to a MC team that was 0-4 in the CCL they lose on of the next two.
Prediction is they play LA again but lose in a lower scoring game than the first. LA home field advantage the coaches abilities make LA a favorite.
I would give it to Hetlet. He's got more state titles and doesn't recruit. Holecek is a great coach but his talent is also better than everyone else's. I guess you could say Holecek doesn't recruit either because kids just want to play for him now.
While Holacek might be the best now - remember he's made some HUGE gaffes in his past too. The Naperville Central State Championship game and one of the Semi Losses to Maine South were pretty bad games for Holocek. But he learned from those games.
Any status on the Jake Haas kid - if he is not playing then I think that's a two way player out for Fremd which would be a big hit
No argument there. I like Konecki as well. They are like Korhonen at Richards in years back (although he had a congressional map somehow for his school district).
To me I think recruiting against 8A schools and winning at that clip for a Holocek makes it a different conversation. Look at their road last year.
8A teams have larger pools to draw from and to me that offsets recruiting except for Morton and Sandburg. You'll get your Stevenson, Palatine, HF and now LWE that will have loaded classes and with good coaches outweigh the recruiting. Mount Carmel does not need to out recruit HF to win, LA does. That is where the coaching also comes in for me.
Again this is all IMHO
I hope the kid can play. I've watched him and other senior Vikings roam the neighborhood since they started PAFA. Wore their jerseys constantly.
I like Fremd. I grew up in the school's district, played PAFA and I have a great amount of respect for coach Sponsel. He's done wonders for the program and it wouldn't surprise me if the Vikings win a state title in the next 5-7 years under his leadership. However, I just don't see the Vikings beating Rice. I bet they bust Rice up a bit due to their very physical play, but I just don't see them being able to put up the points. Hope I'm wrong. GO VIKINGS!
See, respectfully, I have to disagree. I think the program has gone downhill under Sponsel...and I'm not just saying this since my sons played for Palatine and I bleed Scarlett & Grey.
Sponsel's seasons:
2012: 5-4 , 1 and done in the playoffs
2013: 6-3 , 1 and done in the playoffs
2014: 6-3 , 1 and done in the playoffs
2015: 5-4 , 1 and done in the playoffs
2016: 6-3 , ??
OK, but nowhere near what his predecessor did.
I don't know the whole story of the '15 season, but he had only 43 kids suit up because a whole bunch of kids decided not to play...that's not necessarily the sign of a healthy program.
Additionally, Fremd seems to have lots of groups of kids who were highly successful at lower level, and turn them into 5-4/6-3 varsity squads. This year's seniors are the perfect example. They were 9-0 as freshman & sophomores..beat Barrington and Palatine at those levels. They started last year as juniors on varsity 4-0; but they then went 1-5 the rest of last season and 6-3 this season..so they were 22-0 at one point and went 7-8 since. That isn't an isolated incident..it seemed to be that way at Fremd for a number of year. Now, the last couple of seasons the lower levels have not been that successful at Fremd(or Palatine for that matter), so to see how good a coach/grower/motivator he is will come when he has marginal talent to mold.
Now let's look at the other side of town. When Rick Splitt took over in 2013, Palatine had graduated 19 starters from a 10-2 quarterfinalist team, and alot of the feeling at the time was Donnelly stepped down because he thought the cupboard was bare...and in a way he was right. Splitt's first year started 4-2 and then ended 4-5 with a heavily junior dominated team. I'd actually argue this may have been Splitt's best year as a coach, as we've seen what happened to other programs recently when they graduated all the talent from a senior laden team. Schaumburg went from 8-1 in 2013 to 1-8 in 2014, and Conant went from 6-3 in 2015 to 0-9 in 2016. That Splitt was 4-2 and just needed one more win to get over the hump with 19 new starters and alot of juniors starting I think is extremely impressive. In 2014, Palatine went 7-2, 5-0 in conference and beat a heavily favored Huntley team by 22 pts before getting thrashed by Glenbard West in the second round. Here's the thing though..the senior class that year was 2-7 as both freshman and sophomores and Splitt totally flipped that record. The 2015 season everyone knows about, they came close to going to a state championship. If we don't have 3 turnovers(two inside Loyola's 3 yard line on successive drives) and the phantom offensive pass interference call on what would have been first and goal on the 7..who knows what might have been. Now here in 2016, with two strong classes, they're the 3rd seed in Class 8A and undefeated going into the playoffs.
Splitt and his crew seem to be able to grow kids and identify what they can do most successfully. They game plan well and seem to make halftime adjustments(especially defensively) more successfully than anyone I've ever seen.
Splitt's records are:
2013: 4-5
2014: 7-2 , 1-1 in the playoffs
2015: 7-2, 3-1 in the playoffs/state semifinalist
2016: 9-0, ?? (14-0 ...dare to dream...)
So I'd say Splitt and Palatine are way closer to a state championship than Sponsel/Fremd and I'd argue that Splitt @ Palatine is building the program Donatucci used to have @ Fremd or moreso what Petricca used to have @Palatine. Again, I fully admit my bias, but my perception is these programs are going in opposite directions.
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I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Donatucci never won a quarterfinal game.
Absolutely nothing but whereas all south land publics receive some pressure from privates for students, Sandburg's district sits in an area where all the privates (Marist, SR, MC, BR, PC) could be viable alternatives to attending the area public school.
You're correct. For all the Fremd hype thru the 90s and 00s, they've never played a 13th game in a season. Palatine has one 2nd in state and two other semifinals visits, including last year.
Kpjasion is on the money. Sponsel hasn't done much with solid to strong talent year to year. Donatucci ran a much stronger program. As was said, the current seniors were undefeated as both frosh and soph. By no means does that guarantee anything, however they clearly regressed to one degree or another as a class. In my mind, obviously the talent was there, but continual improvement was not. Also, every year Sponsel has been in charge,there has been a different offensive scheme/system in place. It literally changed significantly every year. Can you imagine? This years offense lacked any sort of deception. Zero imagination. Put it this way.... I think most would agree that FHS gets more talent through the doors on a year to year basis than PHS. Yet, PHS improves and usually plays deeper into the fall than FHS. Nothing is due to improve at Fremd under Sponsel as the talent is slightly decreasing year to year in the immediate future. I just look forward to what will be Sponsil's completely new offensive system in 2017! In my opinion, there is a serious lack of buy in to his program from the players. He needs to start there for any hope of any sort of playoff run.
Wow - I thought he ran a nice gameplan vs Rice - nice upset win on the road.