Broncos earn rematch against Glenbard North
There was an exciting, down-to-the-wire match at Tuesday's Class AA dual team wrestling sectional at Leyden, but it wasn't one of the two that involved Montini.
The host Eagles came from behind 19-7 to pull out a 34-25 win over New Trier in one semifinal. But Leyden was then dismantled 66-12 in the sectional championship by a Broncos squad that also roughed up York 61-6 earlier in the other semifinal.
With the sectional team title plaque in hand, 33-1 Montini heads downstate Saturday in hopes of improving on last year's Class AA runner-up finish. But the Broncos will have a tough opener Saturday morning in Moline when they face Glenbard North. Two years ago the Panthers ended Montini's postseason, and last year Montini returned the favor on its way to the second-place trophy.
"It's gonna take a lot," Broncos coach Mike Bukovsky said of his team's quarterfinal battle with the DuPage Valley Conference champ. "Glenbard North is a great test. One of us will have ended the other's season three years in a row. We've got to be ready, and we will be ready."
Montini was surely ready Tuesday night. In the semis the Broncos built a 52-0 lead before York 215-pounder Dustin Bles recorded the Dukes' lone victory with a pin. State champion heavyweight Garrett Goebel followed with a first-period fall as the rout continued.
Goebel, who added another pin in the finals to improve to 54-1 on the season, said last year's loss to Sandburg in the state championship match has fueled his team's charge downstate this time around.
"As good as our season was last year, we didn't reach our goal of a state title," Goebel said. "The way it ended was kind of depressing. I think remembering that has helped us."
Leyden coach Jason Potter was proud of his team's effort but knew his squad (21-2) was just overmatched in the finals.
"It is what it is," he said. "They're one of the top teams in the state. Actually, they're one of the top in the country. We asked our kids to fight and they did."
Montini 171-pounder Carl Foreside, who took second individually at state last weekend, added two pins to up his season mark to 52-4.
"Everybody's a little dinged up right now," Foreside said. "All we can do is keep pushing and work hard. These teams (tonight) are good, but we know how hard we work."
Hard enough to earn another trip downstate.
Saturday's Class AA team wrestling schedule
Quarterfinals, 9 a.m.
Libertyville vs. Granite City
Montini vs. Glenbard North
Providence vs. St. Rita
Rockton Hononegah vs. Lincoln-Way Central
Semifinals, 2 p.m.
Third-place and championship matches, 6 p.m.
All matches at Wharton Field House, Moline