Montini downs Wave, all set to battle Driscoll
One more hurdle.
All that stood between Montini and a Suburban Catholic Conference showdown against Driscoll was Saturday's football game against St. Edward.
Montini took care of business by cruising to a 52-0 victory over the Green Wave in Lombard, setting up perhaps the most highly-anticipated game in conference history.
The Broncos (8-0, 6-0) will travel on Saturday to Addison to play fellow unbeaten Driscoll (8-0, 6-0) in a regular-season finale to decide the outright SCC champion.
After eight weeks of buildup, Montini can finally start talking about the game of the year.
"That game's going to be a war," said Broncos senior John Borsellino, who had 10 catches for 96 yards, scored 2 touchdowns and intercepted a pass. "The environment's going to be incredible."
Montini had little trouble against St. Edward (1-7, 1-5), which broke a 26-game losing streak with last week's win over St. Francis.
The Broncos stormed to a 21-0 lead after one quarter before St. Edward slowed the momentum with a trio of second-quarter stops featuring interceptions by Ryan Gilbert and Nevin Bens.
Montini scored 3 touchdowns to start the second half, building a 45-0 lead by the end of the third quarter.
"They're a great program," said Green Wave coach Mike Rolando. "I saw them recognizing their seniors, and they had as many seniors as we had players. We know it's a tall order for our boys, and they played tough."
Montini rolled up 414 yards of offense as Tom DiCristina completed 16 of 22 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. He also ran in 2 touchdowns.
Broncos coach Chris Andriano sat running back-linebacker Dex Jones for what he termed "grade issues," although Andriano stressed that Jones was not ineligible.
Matt Sloan stepped up with 114 yards and 2 touchdowns on 11 carries. Sean Cahill contributed an 18-yard field goal and backup quarterback Dan Stelter added a 6-yard touchdown run.
The Broncos forced 5 turnovers from St. Edward, including 3 fumbles, and limited the Green Wave to 131 total yards.
"It was a good start, we came out and played real well early," said Andriano, who sounded eager to begin preparing for the Driscoll game. "Everybody's been waiting for this one. Everything's on the line. It should be fun."