Montini stops 2-point conversion on final play to win thriller over Fenwick
Having seen an 18-point lead against Fenwick cut to two with no time left, Montini needed to stop a two-point conversion to avoid overtime.
Jamen Williams had just found Mike Murphy for this third touchdown pass of the game after throwing for 336 yards, and it was clear he would throw on the attempt.
Sure enough, Williams spotted Raphiel Stewart (101 yards), who had scored the game’s first touchdown on a 72-yard reception. He fired the ball to Stewart, and it was in his hands for a moment before it dropped out, preserving the Broncos’ 31-29 win.
“Our kids have shown great resolve all year,” Montini coach Mike Bukovsky said. “And through the teams we play, to be 4-0, that's a pretty good accomplishment. So we'll take it, move on, but we gotta get better.”
The first half of the first quarter didn’t feature much action from the Broncos (4-0, 1-0) or Friars (3-1, 0-1). Things changed when Fenwick punter Noah Sur completed a fake and ran for a first down. Immediately following that was Williams’ touchdown pass to Stewart.
The Broncos promptly responded. A failed onside kick set them up in good field position, and Isaac Alexander capped the drive with a game-tying 3-yard touchdown run.
The second quarter saw Montini’s defense shine. First, it held Fenwick to a 36-yard Sur field goal. Then, Payton Nelson picked Williams off and ran it back 30 yards for the score with 11.7 seconds left before halftime, giving the Broncos a 14-10 lead.
Midway through the third quarter, Broncos quarterback Izzy Abrams finally broke through when, after the Friars turned the ball over on downs, he fired a 57-yard touchdown to a completely open Damacio Ortegon on the first play from scrimmage.
Abrams wasn’t through in the third. Fenwick had another turnover on downs, and while the scoring wasn’t as immediate this time, he found Nico Castaldo open in the end zone and connected with him from 28 yards out.
“We knew (the Friars) were biting on our run plays,” said Abrams, who threw for 160 yards. “So we knew those plays would set them up, and we hit (our receivers) deep on the big plays.”
Williams wasn’t ready to concede as he quickly led another drive and threw for his second touchdown on a 29-yard pass to Will Tomczak. However, the Broncos stuffed the Friars’ run attempt at a two-point conversion.
The fourth quarter featured Montini padding its lead with a Johnny Louise 41-yard field goal, moved up from 46 after Fenwick was caught offsides. The Friars promptly got within a score though as Jake Theis spun and broke tackles to run for a 5-yard touchdown.
Montini only moved backwards on the ensuing possession and was forced to punt, setting up the Friars’ near-heroics with 2:49 left.
“I think everyone with eyes knows if we played football like that all four quarters, it would have been a whole lot different story,” said Fenwick coach Matt Battaglia.