Glenbrook South hangs on at Barrington
When you put up 364 yards in total offense, 279 of them on the ground and 227 of those from one back on more than 7 yards per carry, it adds up to victory, right?
Well, no. Not when your opponent has 478 total and two backs with 175 and 121, respectively. And not when you commit 4 turnovers to your opponent's one. And not when those 4 turnovers dig you a 28-point hole in the first half.
Such was the story for host Barrington on Saturday night in a 35-28 opening-round Class 8A first-round playoff loss to a Glenbrook South team that played much better than the 5-4 record it brought into the contest.
The 11th-seeded Titans will host No. 14 Palatine (6-4) in the second round next weekend.
The Broncos (7-3) finished the season on a sour 3-game losing streak, but more from lack of efficiency than effort. Two first-half pass interceptions, both by Kevin Schroeder, and two lost fumbles, derailed Broncos drives.
Titans quarterback Matt Jenkins (5-for-13, 74 yards and 3 TDs) converted all the opportunities to scores, using the speed of Kyle Kwasniewski for scoring runs of 49 and 17 yards and the speed and strength of John Strickland for a 4-yard scoring run and a 35-yard fade completion down the left side.
“We dug ourselves into too big a hole in the first half,” said Barrington coach Joe Sanchez. “They took advantage.”
But the Broncos took a new perspective into the second half. Continuing to unleash Nico Martinez (30 carries, 227 yards) behind a titanic offensive line and allowing junior quarterback Mark Bennett some option freedom, they rallied within a score in the final period. Bennett's short TD run, Martinez' 21-yard scoring romp after a fumble recovery and 43-yard return by Rob Wagner helped. And a Bennett 24-yard TD toss to Zach Dulla, who pulled it in on a dive in the right corner after deflecting it himself to keep it alive, kept the Broncos in it.
But Strickland (25 carries, 121 yards) and Jenkins combined to run the clock out after that, and Barrington, as Sanchez put it, “ran out of time.”
And you can bet South was sweating after blowing a 31-point lead the previous week. Somehow, it got that past that mental block.
“It's really hard to put your arms around that and come back,” said Glenbrook South coach Mike Noll, who has yet to miss the playoffs at South in six years after many years of similar success at McHenry.
Barrington faced similar adversity, coming in on a two-game losing streak and without all-conference junior back Chase Murdock, who found out Thursday night he had two broken bones in his back. He should be fine for the 2011 season but was barely able to jog in street clothes along the Barrington sideline.
Enter Martinez.
“We played our best football in the second half,” he said, holding back tears. “Unfortunately, we didn't come up with the win. Our O-line did a fantastic job. Our defense, you've got to give them props, too.”
In addition to shutting out South in the second half, the Broncos came up with a fumble recovery and a pair of fourth-down stops to help enable the comeback led by Wagner, Ben LeCompte, Kyle Bromm, Kyle Strauss and Alex Jirschele.
Sanchez was particularly proud of this team and senior class that bounced back with a playoff effort after struggling through a difficult 2009 season.
And with Murdock and Bennett at the top of the list, “We've got a nice group coming back,” he said.