Who had the top performances for Montini’s football team in the title game?
Sometimes even the High Five gets thrown for a loop.
We were hoping to honor Montini and St. Francis football players one last time in celebration of their appearances in the IHSA final. Consider the mission only half accomplished.
Because the Spartans’ Class 5A title game against Providence was postponed until Tuesday afternoon due to Saturday’s snowstorm, kudos from the High Five are also postponed.
So this edition focuses on the top performances from Montini in Friday’s 47-33 victory over Rochester in the IHSA Class 4A title game. It was the program’s eight state title and second straight.
5. Orlando Greco, jr., LB
The Broncos’ defense wasn’t stellar, at least not to the standard set in the earlier rounds of the playoffs. But that’s to be expected in a title game, especially against a potent offense like Rochester’s.
Greco led the effort — one that included key interceptions by Johnny Louise and Payton Nelson — by notching a team-high 11 tackles. Seven were solos and one for a loss.
4. Angelo DeSensi, sr., OL
We’d be out of line to not honor an offensive lineman after a season of trench dominance.
The Broncos piled up nearly 600 yards of offense on Friday while averaging about 10 yards per play. Nearly 200 of those yards came on the ground.
DeSensi, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound three-year starter, led the linemen from the left tackle spot. Blending a mix of juniors and seniors up front was again a seamless process for the Broncos.
3. Charles Flowers, sr., RB
Montini’s rushing game has been subtly effective all season. The balanced tandem of Flowers and Isaac Alexander entered the game with 1,231 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Flowers took the reins on Friday in an effort that allowed the Broncos to get some distance from Rochester in the shootout. He carried the ball 13 times for 103 yards and touchdowns 31 and 24 yards.
His first touchdown came right after Nelson’s interception to give his team a 14-6 lead. The second one came after Rochester rallied to within 34-26 after three quarters, boosting the advantage back to two scores.
2. Damacio Ortegon, jr., WR
Ortegon vaulted over the 1,000-yard mark for receiving yards in the semifinals with an impressive yards-per-catch average of 21.8 yards on the season.
He slowed down not one bit on Friday.
Ortegon had 7 catches for 167 yards (an average of nearly 24 yards) including 57 yards after the catch and a touchdown of 48 yards. Luca Florio also eclipsed the century mark with 4 catches for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns on Friday.
1. Israel Abrams, jr., QB
Abrams would be the first to tell you Friday wasn’t his finest hour. He’d love to have those two interceptions back, especially the pick six near the end of the third quarter.
But let’s be honest. The highly-touted recruit was spectacular overall.
Abrams completed 20 of 30 passes for 418 yards and 4 touchdowns, putting him at 4,065 passing yards and 40 touchdowns for the season. He also added 46 rushing yards and a touchdown, his 10th of the season running the ball, to give him 50 overall.