Defense leads Barrington to 7-2 win

Charlie Goro, say hello to Cam Good, Jason Bromm, Chris Johnson, Brad Gunderson, Brett Seeger, Tim Oakley, Terrance Terry and friends of Barrington.

The Broncos defenders are eager to get acquainted with Goro, the quarterback who drives the vaunted Maine South offense they will host next Saturday in the Class 8A state quarterfinals.

The Broncos showed they're ready in a 7-2 second-round win Saturday night over New Trier (6-5) in Northfield, consistently turning away the Trevians at the doorstep of stealing the win.

Six times in Barrington (9-2) territory in the second half, four in the red zone, New Trier was repelled by a Barrington defense determined to make a statement and did so by picking off five passes.

"Our defense really stepped up. Each guy played his heart out," said linebacker Cam Good, who had a key pick in the second half after New Trier reached the Barrington 32.

The Broncos' defense, somewhat embarrassed after surrendering some high point totals during the season, wanted to make amends.

"We came together," said Good.

"We played each play like it was our last," and it almost was, said linebacker Jason Bromm, who had two picks, one off a key deflection, deep in his own territory, and made several other big tackles for losses or to prevent otherwise big gainers.

Brad Gunderson had the other picks, but none of the turnovers led to Barrington's only points. Those came on a 1-yard plunge by Sam Ojuri (30 carries, 161 yards) with 14 seconds left in the first half on a nearly perfect 64-yard, 14-play drive that took 4:11.

After limiting New Trier to 52 yards of total offense in the first half, one would've thought Barrington's lead was two or three touchdowns. But the Broncos muffed several scoring chances and quarterback Cody Seeger struggled somewhat against New Trier's aggressive defense, throwing a pick and getting caught for a safety attempting to pass.

"Every time we did something positive (on offense), we did something negative," was the lament of Barrington coach Joe Sanchez, including 4 turnovers and several penalties of omission rather than commission. "We had opportunities."

But even with Ojuri's sparkling performance, it was the defense's turn to shine. Gunderson picked Stuart Brown (18-of-35, 130 yards, 5 interceptions) on New Trier's first possession of the second half. Terry's secondary work helped the Broncos force the Trevs to turn the ball over on downs at Barrington's 17 on their next possession and his defense on John Jordan forced New Trier into a missed field goal try on a windy night on the possession after that.

Barrington shut the Trevians down again when Brett Seeger smothered intended receiver Brendan Green on fourth down late in the third quarter at the 9.

And in the fourth quarter, picks by Gunderson, Bromm and Good, all in Barrington territory, ended New Trier's hopes.

"It was unbelievable," said Good. "We knew we had to get on that field and play our hearts out."

"We just do what we do. We trust each other," said Bromm.

Barrington will make its fourth quarterfinal trip since 2003 against Maine South (11-0), which beat Loyola 26-7 on Saturday.

"Next week will be an absolute challenge," against Goro and Maine South, said Sanchez, but he was going to savor this win first. "It may not have been pretty," he noted, "but we're moving on."

How?

"It was resolve," he said. "It was determination."