St. Edward gives Montini fits

Neither St. Edward nor Montini could have predicted an ending like the one they had Friday night.

The Broncos, known for winning close games, did just that - again.

St. Edward, 1 or 2 plays away from winning, also found itself one play away from a victory over a state-ranked team on the Green Wave's Senior Night.

Broncos' quarterback Tom Dicristina made an incredible pass on a 3rd-and-30 from the 45-yard line to eventually give Montini (8-0, 6-0) a 33-27 Suburban Catholic Conference victory at St. Edward's Greg True Field.

Dicristina was nearly sacked by Green wave defensive lineman Ryan Eigenhauser, but spun free and connected with a wide-open Grant Goebel, who had sneaked behind the Green Wave defenders and into the end zone with 2:53 left to play.

"Our guys were right there," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "We had fingertips on his jersey. He just let it go at the right time."

Dicristina finished with all 5 of Montini's touchdowns. He ran in a pair from a yard out and hit Goebel (4 receptions, 120 yards) twice, the other a 20-yard bullet, and nailed a 16-yard pass to Ryan Gorrell.

"Our offense is coming together," said Dicristina, who went 16 of 19 for 308 yards. "We did a good job on offense all night long."

So did the Green Wave (3-5, 1-5), who were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.

After Dicristina's last touchdown pass, St. Edward promptly marched down the field 95 yards to bring it back to a one-score game with 29 seconds remaining.

Senior running Jimmy Mathisen ran in from 9-yards out with 29 seconds left to bring the Green Wave to within a touchdown. Jordan Torres' extra point made it 33-27, but the Green Wave would not come any closer.

"Everyone should be proud about how they played," said Mathisen, who rushed for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Mathisen's first touchdown came on a 23-yard run with 1:32 left before halftime. Torres' extra point gave St. Edward a 14-7 lead. Dicristina rebounded with a 4-play, 7-yard drive in the next 1:05, which was capped off with a 20-yard touchdown to Goebel. On the drive, he found Goebel 3 times for 75 yards. St. Edward held off the 2-point conversion to take a 14-13 halftime advantage.

The lead was short-lived.

Dicristina scored twice in the third period as well, the first coming on a 1-yard run with 9:56 to go in the third. Again, the Green Wave held off the 2-point try and were within 19-14. The senior signal caller then found Gorrell with 5:43 left to extend Montini's lead to 26-14.

St. Edward did have two chances, with 1st-and-10s on the 37, but both times, the Green Wave failed to put the ball in the end zone.

St. Edward struck the first blow when its 8 minute, 5 second drive to open the game ended with Cory Diaz finding Zack Von Ahnen on a 12-yard touchdown with 3:55 left in the first period.

"They're a very good running team," Montini coach Chris Andriano said. "They're run the ball every week. We knew that was going to happen."

Montini struck next with the first of Dicristina's two 1-yard touchdown runs with 11:15 to go in the first half.