Barrington picks up another victory

Barrington senior Ben LeCompte had spent most of his prep career as a wide receiver, but a need on defense saw the Broncos coaches switch LeCompte to cornerback this season.

Smart move.

The senior, who'd never had even 1 interception in a game, picked off 3 passes in leading the Broncos to a 35-14 win over the visiting Huskies.

Barrington quarterback Matt LeMire threw for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns, while defensive back Dylan Zyzda pitched in with another interception as the Broncos improved to 3-0 after a Mid-Suburban League crossover victory.

"I have to give all the credit to our scout team," said LeCompte, who coach Joe Sanchez said "might have set a school record" with the three picks. "They give us some great looks (in practice)."

"Our motto this week was 'If they're going to beat us, they're going to have to go deep,'" added LeCompte, who is also the Barrington punter and kicker. "I focused on keeping in my zone and making sure no one got behind me."

The first half was all Broncos as Jeremy Rafidia caught a 21-yard touchdown pass, J.L. Etienne rushed for a 42-yard TD, and Peter Cobb caught a 2-yard toss from LeMire for a 21-0 halftime lead.

"We had 3 turnovers in the first half and two of them led to touchdowns," said Hersey (2-1) coach Dragan Teonic, "and we had poor kickoff coverage to start the game and that led to another one of their scores.

"That touchdown they got at the end of the half (Cobb's catch with 18 seconds remaining) was the one that hurt the most."

The Huskies responded with an electric third-quarter rally as running back Chris Polinski ran for 93 of his total 124 rushing yards in the quarter.

Polinski's 1-yard plunge and Stephen Kuc's 25-yard touchdown reception on a pass from QB Brad Zaucha, both on fourth down, saw Hersey close to 21-14.

"Some of that was on us," said Sanchez, "but you have to give Hersey all the credit in the world. They came out like gangbusters and kept us on our heels."

The Broncos responded in the fourth quarter to put the game away, controlling the clock and scoring on a Zach Dulla 4-yard touchdown reception and a 4-yard run by Chase Murdock to put away the game.

Murdock finished with 112 yards on the day, including a 39-yard jaunt late in the fourth quarter to give the Broncos a bit of breathing room.

"We did enough good things to win tonight," said Sanchez, "and that's all that matters when you look up at the scoreboard."