Montini offense spreading the fun around
It's not easy for a head football coach to cede control.
Release has reaped reward for Chris Andriano and his Montini Broncos, who have revamped their offensive system since their Class 4A championship season of 2004.
When Lewis Borsellino arrived as offensive coordinator in 2007 it ushered in the era of all-state quarterbacks Tommy DiCristina and, this year, Brandon Pechloff - and veered away from Andriano's standby scheme, the veer option.
"He kind of gave me the keys to the kingdom," said Borsellino, a Montini Wall of Fame member who was a senior all-state linebacker in 1974 when Andriano was still coaching the freshmen.
"I'm thrilled to death because Chris trusted me to make this change," said Borsellino, who imported the spread offense Maine South coach David Inserra and offensive coordinator Charlie Bliss have run so successfully this decade, executed in part by former Hawks receivers Lewis Borsellino Jr. and brother Anthony.
"We knew we could have the athletes do it," the older Borsellino said, "and if the kids buy into the program we could compete with anybody. I really believe that."
Montini puts its belief system and offensive system to a supreme test in today's Class 5A championship game against Joliet Catholic.
Belief has been a staple of Montini football for decades. So had Andriano's veer option offense. He ran it through the quarterback tenures of 2004 championship quarterback Bobby Dobry and smart, tough signalcallers Pete Cappetta, Pete Mastandrea down through his own two sons, Scott Andriano and big brother Matt, now the assistant offensive coordinator.
In 2004 Montini ran the ball 608 times and threw it 152. The Broncos were headed by big back Mike Mucha (also a current assistant) and little back Joey Borsellino, one of Lewis' nephews. That team had one game-breaking receiver, Ben Murphy, who caught 44 passes for 854 yards and 10 touchdowns.
This year's group features four receivers with at least 38 catches - Anthony Taylor, Christian Westerkamp, Jordan Westerkamp and Nick Campanella, who has a team-high 63 receptions.
Sophomore Jordan Westerkamp has caught 45 passes for 1,076 yards and 15 touchdowns, the top target for the 6-foot-6 Pechloff, who has completed 201 passes in 337 attempts for 3,005 yards, 41 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
"I was a wide receiver when I was in school (at Palatine and Millikin)," Chris Andriano said. "I loved the whole idea of being able to throw it. It puts a lot of pressure on defenses. Good passing offenses can put good defenses in a bad frame of mind."
The 31-year head coach has final say but allows Lewis Borsellino and defensive coordinator Mike Bukovsky to control their respective sides. The Hall of Fame head coach noted this year's offensive line not only returned no starters but did not have the size or power of former Broncos hulks like Garrett Goebel, Brandon Frey or Chuck Porcelli.
"This (spread offense) kind of fits our personalities," Andriano said. "Look at our group this year - it's a bunch of ragtag guys, not big physically talented and as strong, but they just hustle, hustle and play together. If you can pass block for four seconds you can do a lot of good things."
Still, the ground game headed by Campanella and Ryan Gorrell has run the ball 326 times, a balance not lost on Joliet Catholic coach Dan Sharp, familiar with the Broncos' rise from a 5-4 regular season.
"I think the big issue seems to be they're more balanced with the run and pass than they were earlier in the year," Sharp said. "They've become very much a two-dimensional team."
As a youth coach for 15 years, Lewis Borsellino won three Bill George League titles in five years running the spread with the Lombard Falcons, featuring such players as Taylor and the Westerkamps.
"It's just always been a dream of mine to come back (to Montini)," he said.
The dream became reality - and continues at 10 a.m. today.
"It's (my) third year and the kids are understanding the offense and Brandon has really stepped it up in the second half of the season," Borsellino said. "We're basically taking what the defense gives us."