Fremd holds on to top Conant

Updated: September 24, 2011 12:46AM

The Mid-Suburban West still belongs to Fremd.

A.J. McGhee rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown on 37 carries, Sam Beutler ran for one touchdown and threw for another and Fremd’s defense turned Conant away on fourth down at the 9-yard line with two minutes remaining as the Vikings held on for a 24-20 win Friday in Hoffman Estates.

The loss was Conant’s eighth in a row to Fremd, which has won or shared the last eight Mid-Suburban West titles.

“I tell you what, our boys came to play and they played their butts off right from the get-go,” said Fremd coach Mike Donatucci, who will retire at the end of the season with the most wins in league history.

“They boys didn’t back down,” he added. “They didn’t look at (Conant’s) record. They just look at what they have to do. The offensive line did a great job. The running backs did a great job.”

McGhee punished Conant for 74 yards in the first half including a three-yard touchdown run with 3:07 remaining in the second quarter that extended Fremd’s lead to 17-6.

“The offensive line played great,” McGhee said. “We had to suck it in and play tough. We knew it was going to be a war. Coach Donatucci told us they would be ready. At halftime, we had to think all the positive stuff and think like the score was 0-0 and keep pounding it.”

Fremd (3-2, 1-0 in the Mid-Suburban West) extended its lead to 24-6 on a one-yard plunge by Beutler (11 of 14 passing, 115 yards, two intercpetions). But Conant, which entered the game as the last unbeaten team in the league, stormed back behind Tim Manczko and Matt Cullen.

Cullen (21 of 34, 239 yards) threw a six-yard toucndown pass to Jacobi Sims to cut the lead to 24-12, and following the second of two Manczko interceptions, Cullen found Tom Zidek from 11 yards out with 11:49 left in the game.

Conant (4-1, 0-1) drove from its own 32 to the Fremd 9-yard line with 2:08 remaining after holding the Viking on downs, but Cullen’s pass to Manczko on fourth down was broken up in the end zone.

“They (Conant) are tough offensively,” Donatucci said. “They do a lot of good things. The kids hung in there and made the play at the end.”

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