Barrington sacks Glenbrook South again
Devan Van Ness and Barrington flipped the script on Glenbrook South again.
Van Ness accounted for 5 sacks to help lead Barrington past Glenbrook South 42-18 Friday in the opening round of Class 8A playoffs in Barrington.
No. 3 Barrington (10-0) will host No. 14 Naperville Central next weekend in the second round of the playoffs. Naperville Central beat Downers Grove South 31-22.
It was the second win if the season for Barrington over No. 30 Glenbrook South (4-6). The Broncos beat the Titans 27-19 in Week 3. In that game Van Ness also had 5 sacks.
"Our tackles are doing their job," Van Ness said. "When my teammates do the job it really helps. We swarmed to the ball when they ran it. If one our guys wasn't there, the next guy was."
Van Ness along with Soren Leahy, Josh Piepert, Jack Burzinski and Ian Maderosian bottled up Glenbrook South running back Nate Canning, who came into the game with 1,737 yards. The Broncos held him to 30 yards on 12 carries.
"We talked about being gap sound," Barrington coach Joe Sanchez said. "And we talked about tackling. That's what you have to do. When we played them the first time and see him on film he is unbelievable. We just talked all week about making sure we tackled him."
Barrington dominated in all phases in the first half when the Broncos built a 21-3 lead. They outgained Glenbrook South 244 yards to 19 yards in the half.
After a sack by Van Ness and a short punt by Glenbrook South, the Broncos went to work at the Titans 28. The plays later, Connor Fitzpatrick crashed over on a 5-yard run to make it 7-0.
Glenbrook South responded by driving to the Barrington 13. But a fumbled pitch and sacks by Josh Peipert and Marderosian moved the ball back to the 32. Glenbrook South's Jacob Priegnitz booted a 49-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.
It was then the Nick Piepert and Matt Marusich Show to close out the half.
The duo connected on a 34-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the second quarter to increase the lead to 14-3. The pair reconnected on a screen pas that went for 51 yards and other touchdown with 2:39 left in the half to make it 21-3.
"I was really proud of the way we came out," Sanchez said. "In all three phases, we did a lot of good things."
Running behind an offensive line of Joey Cheh, Nathan Cook, Owen Fors, Dylan Balsis and Bryan Galovich, the Broncos gained 316 yards on the ground. Fitzpatrick picked up 217 yards on 21 carries while Calvin Jackson had 108 yards on 9 carries.
"Our line takes a lot of pride in their footwork and their steps," Fitzpatrick said. "When our guys are playing physical we roll and it shows."
It remained 21-3 until the fourth quarter when Barrington began to really pull away.
Fitzpatrick busted off a 42-yard touchdown run to make it 28-3.
Glenbrook South scored on a long touched pass from Andrew Bonvechio to Tyrone Cotton. A conversion run by Dom Rejkiewicz made it 28-11.
The Broncos answered with an 11-yard slip screen pass from Piepert to Conor Fitzpatrick. With 5:11 to play, Jackson had a 40-yard scoring jaunt to make it 42-11. Glenbrook South scored with just over two minutes to play to close out the scoring.
Sanchez said he credited his scout team, which he calls "The Dirty Show" for his team's preparation for Friday's game.
"The do all the dirty work," Sanchez said. "Our guys all week were outstanding. They prepped our defense, they prepped our offense. That's what helps us come out here and get us on top."