Montini pulls out all the stops
Time and time again Saturday, Montini's defense made plays when it mattered most.
None bigger than Franklin Bruscianelli's.
Bruscianelli's interception with just more than a minute left stopped Marian Central's potential game-tying drive. The Broncos added a touchdown in the final seconds for a 24-10 win in the Class 5A football quarterfinal at Elmhurst College.
"Our backs were against the wall," Bruscianelli said, "and I just made a play. Our defense fought the whole game."
Montini broke a 10-10 tie with 6:19 left, Matt Westerkamp finding Anthony Taylor on a bubble screen and Taylor going untouched 10 yards for the score.
Marian Central answered by marching 52 yards in 12 plays. But on fourth-and-4 from the Broncos' 12, Bruscianelli stepped in front of a a short pass from Marian Central's Ben Krol and returned the interception 64 yards with 1:25 left.
Westerkamp's 24-yard touchdown pass to Joey Borsellino was icing on the cake.
"We were in man-to-man coverage and I read the quarterback," Bruscianelli said. "I followed him and was underneath it. We just stayed focused and stuck with our assignments and everybody did their job."
Montini (10-2) turned away three Marian Central drives in the shadow of its own goal line. The Hurricanes looked poised to score on a 15-play march to start the game, but Montini's Connor Gorrell picked off a pass in the end zone.
Marian Central (8-4), trailing 10-7 late in the first half, got a short field after a Montini failed fake punt. But on the second-to-last play of the half, Gorrell and Doug Diedrick stood up Corey Cavitt on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
"That's what we're known for, is goal-line stands," Gorrell said. "Marmion, St. Francis, today I guess we excel in those situations."
Colton Wenstrom's 24-yard field goal with 1:55 left in the third quarter tied it 10-10. But even on that drive Montini turned away a potential Hurricanes touchdown. The Broncos never trailed despite the fact that Marian Central ran 30 more offensive plays.
"We left a lot of points on the field today," said Marian Central coach Ed Brucker, whose team turned it over three times. "Too many mistakes."
"You really gotta earn it against our defense," Montini coach Chris Andriano said. "They're playing every play with their hair on fire. There's no off switch with them."
Saturday was the third playoff meeting between the two Suburban Christian Conference opponents over the last four years. But it was the first time the winner in the regular season also won the rematch.
Montini beat Marian Central 35-6 Oct. 1, Marian's last loss before Saturday. Andriano knew he had an improved, hungry opponent on his hands.
"We survived," Andriano said. "I just knew that this would be a fourth-quarter game."
Westerkamp completed 18 of 27 passes for 186 yards. He also ran in a touchdown in the first half. Taylor caught 10 of the passes for 85 yards.
Montini moves on to play at Kaneland. A win there and the Broncos will head back to Champaign to defend their 5A title. But it won't be against Joliet Catholic, whose announced loss to Peoria Richwoods stirred up the Montini crowd as the Broncos' game ended.
"It's unfortunate we can't get payback," said Westerkamp, referring back to the season-opening loss to JCA. "But it's great that we're in the semis. I can taste state."