Montini breaks away from Lake Zurich
When Montini finally broke free of the Lake Zurich defense Friday night, it came as a relief to the Broncos.
A team with state-championship ambition and a schedule like Montini's doesn't want to start the football season 0-2.
Instead the Broncos scored twice in the second half to defeat the Bears 19-7 in a nonconference game in Lombard.
"This was huge for us. I mean our backs were against the wall," said Montini coach Chris Andriano, a six-time state champion whose team lost last week at Maine South. "We've got a tough schedule the rest of the way. There's no easy games for us. So this was a big confidence game for us. I thought that some kids really stepped up in clutch situations. We had our backs to the wall there down by a point in the second half."
It didn't feel so good for the Bears (1-1), though.
"That was about as tough a loss as we've ever had," Lake Zurich coach Dave Proffitt said. "We just played outstanding (in the first half), but as I just told the kids, it was only 7-6. We haven't learned how to finish. Even last week we were very fortunate to win. We played about the same last week. We just don't finish the deal."
A fresh face seemed to make a difference for Montini. Andriano made a change at quarterback in the second half, and junior Matt Morrissey sparked the Broncos (1-1).
"Morrissey has been doing his time, taking his snaps and just being prepared," Andriano said. "He's a mature kid, and when we needed him, he got the job done."
Montini went on an 8-play, 90-yard drive capped by running back Will Smith Jr.'s 29-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to take the lead 13-7. Then a 9-play, 41-yard drive ended with a TD pass to senior receiver Brandon Shilgalis for 21 yards to put the Broncos ahead 19-7 with 9:40 to play.
"We had nothing going on offense, and then all of a sudden we got a couple of plays and things clicked and a couple of guys made good plays for us," Andriano said. "That was a tough game. That was a slugfest. Both teams really played hard."
Smith finished with 26 carries for 102 yards substituting for starter Prince Walker, who missed a second straight game due to injury.
Meanwhile, the Montini defense made sure Lake Zurich couldn't get anything going.
It didn't help that the Bears will be without senior running back Kyle Roth the rest of the season. He tore an ACL last week the first time he touched the ball. Joey Stutzman got most of the carries in his place, running 20 times for 91 yards, plus a first-quarter TD catch. He played in all three phases of the game.
"That's big, but that's football," Proffitt said of losing Roth. "Joey plays his heart out. I can't say enough about Joey."
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