Who is Fremd?

Or, as my brother once put it, "Who ever heard of the 'M' and the 'D' next to each other?"

Fremd High School opened its doors as Palatine South in 1963. The school was later named after William Fremd, a longtime member of the board of education. Oh, and Fremd also donated the land for the school.

Fremd currently enrolls about 2900 students and its athletic teams compete in the West Division of the Mid-Suburban League.

Famous alums (sort of) include two-time all-star catcher Todd Hundley, former NFL linebacker Jim Schwantz (later elected mayor of Palatine) and Kris Myers (above), the drummer for the jam band Umphrey's McGee.

The football team is coached by Mike Donatucci and has made 15 consecutive playoff appearances without advancing beyond the quarterfinals.

Rated No. 9 in the Tribune's pre-season rankings, Fremd lost four of its first five games. When freshman Sam Beutler (above) took over at quarterback in the Buffalo Grove game, however, the Vikings began to turn things around.

Led by running back Justin Wallace (above), behind the blocking of Ohio State-bound Brian Bobek and Northwestern-bound Jack Konopka, Fremd has won its last five games, against such post-season qualifiers as Palatine, Barrington and Evanston.

Fremd's 2010 season in a nutshell:

Lake Zurich 20, Fremd 10
Prospect 28, Fremd 14
Elk Grove 29, Fremd 22
Fremd 26, Buffalo Grove 14
Schaumburg 17, Fremd 14
Fremd 30, Hoffman Estates 0
Fremd 17, Palatine 16
Fremd 26, Barrington 12
Fremd 31, Conant 10
Fremd 24, Evanston 13