CN100 Game of the Week preview: IHSA Football Playoffs First Round - Notre Dame vs. Fremd

PALATINE – Fremd senior quarterback Sam Beutler shouldn’t even be in the lineup if you saw what happened to him against Hersey in Week 4.

He went down with a knee injury that many feared would be season ending. The dreaded words an athlete never wants to hear, torn ACL, were thrown around. But after checking it out, doctors realized that he had no ACL to tear. He had a grade-two MCL sprain, but he was born without the ACL, so he is back.

“The fact that he’s able to play is pretty amazing,” Fremd coach Lou Sponsel said. “I really don’t understand it. He was out three weeks, and played the last two weeks. Those things are what football teaches you, perseverance.”

Beutler and his Vikings teammates finished the season 6-3 and earned the No. 8 seed in the Class 8A top bracket. They will host ninth-seeded Niles Notre Dame on Friday at 7 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast by CN100 at Noon and 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2, and 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 4. You can also find the game throughout Chicagoland with Xfinity On Demand.

Beutler’s first game back was a 36-27 win over Schaumburg two weeks ago to give the Saxons their lone loss of the season. In Beutler’s absence, Garrett Groot and Jeff McGlade, who missed the Conant game with a high ankle sprain but is expected to play Friday, carried the load at running back.

“Garrett is a born athlete,” Sponsel said. “He’s a state qualifier in track, a solid basketball player. He’s our top rusher and scorers and plays well in all three aspects of the game. McGlade is old school, a tough, nasty football player that plays hard. He’s a downhill runner and runs physical and with a passion.”

Beutler also has sure-handed Cam Parker and Matt Konopka, the younger brother of Northwestern offensive lineman John Konopka, to work with on the outside. Up front, he has another younger brother of a Division I lineman, Dominic Lombard. His brother Christian starts for the University of Notre Dame.

“They’re a very big team with a good, aggressive offensive line that will give us some trouble,” veteran Notre Dame Coach Mike Hennessey said. “Their quarterback is coming back from injury and he looks good. They run the ball a lot, but they’ve diversified their attack.”

Notre Dame is led by one of the state’s most dynamic playmakers, running back Chris James. He has rushed for 1,417 yards and 17 touchdowns on 200 carries this season.

“He is our leading ground gainer,” Hennessey said. “He’s a three-year starter and an all-state player. He’s as good a running back as there is around. He’s been keyed on a lot this season (by opposing defenses), but he’s the mainstay of what our offense is all about.”

Quarterback Ryan Greene is a dual threat, adding running duties to his 1,404 passing yards. Linebackers Dan Proano and Tom Sora lead the team in tackles defensively. Strong safety Pat Cravens also logs time at wide receiver. Notre Dame followed up a big win over Marist in Week 8 with a loss to a 2-7 Carmel squad.

Both teams are looking forward to the challenge of playing an unfamiliar opponent. Top-seeded Loyola likely awaits the winner in the second round.

“As a coach in a competitive conference, you get so excited about playing teams outside the conference,” Sponsel said.

- Paul Johnson, CN100 Correspondent

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