Broncos storm back

Montini trailed by 2 touchdowns at halftime of Saturday's football game against Marian Central.

Right where the Broncos wanted to be.

Well, not exactly. But after rallying for a pair of victories earlier in the season - and knowing Marian Central's depleted squad may begin to tire - Montini relished its second-half opportunity.

Storming out of halftime with four unanswered touchdowns, Montini stayed unbeaten with a 35-27 Suburban Catholic Conference victory in Lombard.

"They were undermanned, they've got a lot of guys playing both ways," said Broncos coach Chris Andriano. "We knew that they would tire and we just needed to keep the pressure on. We needed to have a fast pace. That was real important the second half."

The Broncos (7-0, 5-0) trailed 20-7 after a stunning 56-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Stochl to Adam Szudarski with only 11 seconds left in the half.

Stochl, who also ran for 2 touchdowns, continues to play for injured Wisconsin-bound quarterback Jon Budmayr, who's out with a broken collarbone.

On the opening drive of the second half, Montini answered with a 9-play scoring drive capped by quarterback Tom DiCristina's 1-yard keeper. Then came a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Spokas for a 21-20 lead and a 7-yard scoring pass to Christian Westerkamp.

The defense, meanwhile, did its job by forcing three straight three-and-outs. Marian Central (4-3, 3-2), after rolling for 14 first-half first downs, didn't move the sticks in the second half until midway through the fourth quarter.

By that time the Broncos led 28-20. Three plays after a Hurricanes punt, Montini moved ahead 35-20 on another DiCristina keeper with 4:07 left.

Stochl's touchdown with 2:03 left narrowed the gap to 35-27, but Montini recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal the victory.

"In the second half that's when we turn on the after boost," said DiCristina, who completed 18 of 25 passes for 200 yards 2 touchdowns and rushed for 64 yards and 3 touchdowns. "We came out, got pumped up and that's what happens when we play our game. You could tell they were getting tired, and that just gave us more motivation."

Sparked by Luke Furjanic's interception on the Hurricane's first play from scrimmage, DiCristina put the Broncos ahead 7-0 with an 8-yard scoring run.

Marian Central scored the next 3 touchdowns to build a 20-7 lead, busting out for 253 first-half yards, including 160 on the ground.