Montini loses in overtime
Montini came up one big play short in Friday's Suburban Christian Conference football showdown against Marian Central.
After the Hurricanes scored to start overtime and were attempting the extra point, Broncos defensive lineman Tom Mihic rose to the occasion to block the kick .
"It was the end of the game and we had to make a play," Mihic said. "Our defense stepped up, and I just got my hand up there."
That gave Montini a big lift when it went on offense.
The Broncos moved the ball down to the Marian Central 4-yard line behind the running of Ryan Gorrell, and quarterback Brandon Pechloff's pass appeared to connect for a touchdown in the left corner, but Hurricanes cornerback Andrew Stone somehow ripped the ball loose and linebacker Jared Koch got the carom for a game-ending interception.
With the 20-14 victory Marian Central played spoiler at Montini's homecoming on a rainy and raw night at John L. Duffy Memorial Field in Lombard.
"(The Hurricanes) made the plays when they had to," said Montini coach Chris Andriano. "I thought our kid had it and we had a touchdown. They made the key plays in the game that allowed them to get the win."
The Broncos (3-3, 0-2) came out strong, cruising to a 14-0 lead early on. On their first series Pechloff marched his team down the field in quick-strike fashion. His big play of the scoring drive was a 39-yard completion to Jordan Westerkamp. Three plays later, he hit Anthony Taylor for a 11-yard touchdown pass.
Montini then tallied its next score early in the second quarter on a 11-yard run by Gorrell. During that drive Pechloff and Taylor linked up on two nice completions for first downs. The Broncos defense looked strong too despite losing one of its top linebackers, Alex Walters. Mihic had a sack. Linebackers Zach Tredenick, Doug Diedrick and Franklin Bruscianelli were active too.
Marian Central (4-2, 2-1) did counter with a 47-yard touchdown reception from Ken Krol to John Miceli with two minutes to play before halftime. The Broncos fought back with a good drive of their own but missed a field goal as time expired on the second quarter.
In the second half as the rain pounded the field, that was when the Hurricanes' offensive line took over. The one-two combo of Corey Cavitt, who ran for 115 yards on 27 carries and Koch, who added 34 yards, were tough to stop.
Cavitt capped a 20-play drive that took nearly 11 minutes off the game clock with a 4-yard touchdown run. The extra point tied the score at 14 with 4:30 to play in the contest. In overtime it was Cavitt who punched in the touchdown.
"I was very proud of the way the kids came back," said Marian Central coach Ed Brucker. "We got down 14-0 and it didn't look very good. We fought back and we outplayed them in the second half."