Barrington 36, Wheeling 18
Barrington's defense set the table in the third quarter and the offense feasted.
The Broncos expanded an 5-point halftime edge to 23 through three quarters thanks to an interception and 2 fumble recoveries. On each occasion, the Broncos scored, and they held on for a 36-18 Mid-Suburban League crossover football victory at Wheeling on Friday.
J.C. Stickney, who also caught a touchdown pass among his 4 receptions, intercepted Wheeling quarterback Matt Holmes on the Broncos' 21. Four plays later, Sam Ojuri scored on the first of 2 long touchdown runs, a 64-yard burst, to give the Broncos (3-1) a 17-6 lead with 7:42 left in the quarter.
"That interception was absolutely huge," said Barrington coach Joe Sanchez. "They had the momentum, and if they scored, I don't know what would have happened. Then, turning it into points was even bigger."
On the ensuing kickoff return, Jason Taylor fell on a fumble on Wheeling's 12. Four plays later, Stickney hauled in a 4-yard scoring pass from Cody Seeger to give the Broncos a 23-6 lead.
Holmes (18-for-28, 220 yards) guided the Wildcats (2-2) to the Barrington 12, where the drive stalled when Andrew Cobb recovered an Abel Rangel fumble on fourth-and-1.
On Barrington's second play, Ojuri (5 carries, 147 yards and 3 touchdowns) broke loose again, this time for 70 yards and the touchdown for a 29-6 lead.
"It was the same play both times," said Ojuri, who scored each time he touched the ball in the second half. "J.C. Stickney had a great block on the first one, and Stickney and (Kevin) Crowley on the second."
"The big thing about our offense is that it has so many weapons," said Seeger (8 carries, 97 yards), who opened the scoring with a 57-yard touchdown option run in the first quarter. "When we watched the film, we knew that (option) would be a huge play for us."
Rangel's 17-yard run four minutes after Seeger scored cut the margin to 8-6 before Ryan Murach's 20-yard field goal made it 11-6 with 1:05 left in the first.
Ojuri's last TD, a 2-yard run with 6:58 left in the game, gave Barrington a 36-6 lead, but Wheeling didn't play out the string.
Holmes put together two scoring drives, both ending in touchdown passes of 2 and 5 yards to James Kurtz (12 receptions, 114 yards).
"Our guys played with a lot of heart," Wheeling coach Dave Dunbar said. "We were right there, 11-6 at halftime. Mistakes, especially that fumble really hurt us."