Broncos get an A on 'D'
Almost everyone who braved the rain and came to Barrington Community Stadium on Friday night expected a shootout.
Instead they saw high-powered Prospect kept off the sparkling new facility's scoreboard for three quarters by the Broncos' defense.
The Broncos were swarming - reminiscent of the 1998 crew honored at halftime for finishing second in the state in Class 6A. And they allowed their own powerful offense to storm to a 31-point lead and improve to 3-0 with a 31-12 Mid-Suburban League crossover victory.
"They're one of the highest-powered teams in the conference," said Barrington senior linebacker Alex Smith. "I don't want to say we have a swagger, but we're pretty confident our team can play well."
Prospect junior quarterback Miles Osei came in with staggering numbers of 293 yards rushing, 398 passing and 10 total touchdowns.
But Smith and linebackers Cam Good, Jason Bromm and Tim Oakley and defensive lineman John Focosi gave Osei little room to maneuver with 14 yards rushing on 18 carries.
"I would have never guessed that," Barrington coach Joe Sanchez said with a surprised look. "All I was thinking was the guy's got about 1,000 yards.
"That team is going to score a lot of points on people but kids had a lot of resolve tonight."
And 88 of Osei's 150 passing yards came after it was 31-0. Bromm lost his helmet on one of his 2 sacks but no one on the Broncos lost their head about what needed to be done.
"There was so much hype about Miles Osei," Good said after he was stopped 6 times for losses and twice for no gain. "He's a great player, but I was so impressed with our team and we all knew we could stop him.
"There could be hype about any player we play but if we stick together - we love swarming and love getting to that ball."
Good did early by forcing a fumble Focosi recovered as Prospect was marching inside Barrington's 25. Focosi also forced a fumble in the fourth quarter.
"I think they're doing some smart things," said Prospect coach Brent Pearlman, who earlier in the week said he liked how Barrington was running its 3-5-3. "They're doing their thing and sticking with it. It wasn't even a contest."
And Barrington's defense wasn't happy Prospect even made it look more contested than it really was.
"We were a little upset," Good said of Osei's fourth-quarter touchdown passes. "We have to stick together and we can't be sloppy like that."
The Broncos haven't been too often with 39 points allowed in 3 games. Not bad since they surrendered 46 points in a win over Schaumburg in last year's season finale.
And the defense knows if it takes care of business, something special could be brewing after the Broncos scored on their first five possessions Friday.
"We have to stop the ball because they are lethal," Good said of the Broncos' offense.
"I feel like the sky's the limit," Smith said of the defense. "We practice hard and work hard. We're hard-nosed guys and we just come to play all the time."