After Barrington lost to Maine South in Week 4, Broncos coach Joe Sanchez got his assistants together.
“We met as a staff to talk about, what do we have to do to get better?” Sanchez said. “And one of the things we talked about … was trying to find a way to get Owen [Fors] more involved.”
Since then, Fors — a three-star prospect committed to Northwestern as an offensive lineman — has been playing both ways.
His impact has been apparent as the No. 15 Broncos ripped off three straight wins, the latest a 23-7 home victory against No. 7 Fremd on Friday night.
Fremd (6-1, 2-1 Mid-Suburban West) has two Northwestern commits of its own in quarterback Johnny O’Brien and offensive lineman Owen Jakubczak. But O’Brien did not play because of an injury that is not believed to be serious. Fremd coach Lou Sponsel said O’Brien is “day to day.”
Meanwhile, the 6-4, 290-pound Fors was a disruptive force on both lines and an emotional leader as well for Barrington (6-1, 3-0).
“Owen, on offense he brings a spark,” said defensive back Nick Marin, who had one of Barrington’s three interceptions. “Just pancakes every other play. And then on defense he’s just that muscle we need down the middle to make them have to double-team somebody. They have to show support on Owen and that frees up space for other people.”
Fors doesn’t just lead by example, either.
“Before every game, he gets us as hyped as possible,” Marin said. “… That’s what we need.”
Fors is fine with taking on a bigger role for the Broncos.
“I enjoy playing offense and defense, it’s great, just to get the boys fired up,” he said.
The prospect of going against a fellow Northwestern recruit in O’Brien added some sizzle to the matchup, though it wound up not happening.
“Johnny’s a great player,” Fors said. “We were preparing for him all week. A little disappointed, [but] we still played our best defensively. Offensively, we’ve still got to step it up.”
Barrington limited Fremd to 25 rushing yards and held the Vikings scoreless after MarQuan Brewster’s six-yard touchdown run in the first minute of the second quarter. Vikings backup quarterback Will Smith, a sophomore, was 9 of 19 passing for 156 yards.
But the Broncos’ defense had a safety when Jackson Taylor pushed a scrambling Smith out of the end zone in the second quarter. Then Duke Matiyow, Brooks Howard and Marin had interceptions in the fourth quarter to keep the Broncos in control.
Sophomore Lamar Osterhues had a pair of touchdown runs for Barrington and finished with 19 carries for 107 yards. Quarterback Luke Tepas ran for 56 yards — including a 40-yard TD — and passed for 141.
Sanchez liked the way his team showed up against a ranked opponent, even if the Vikings didn’t have their star.
“We talked a lot about how the last time we were in a situation like this … when we played Maine South, we did some good things,” Sanchez said. “But I don’t know if we were ready yet for the moment. … We talked all week about growth and how that game helped to prepare us for what we were going to deal with here. And I was proud of our guys.”
“This is not the be all, end all,” Sponsel said. “I know it’s Barrington and we wanted to get it. At the same time, you’ve got to keep the big picture in mind. And ultimately, you’re playing for November.”