With Rhode, Montini routs Marian Central
On a team of difference makers it's hard to isolate one out of Montini's offensive 11.
John Rhode at quarterback, however, lifts the Broncos to another dimension.
The senior completed 29 of 42 passes for 434 yards and 6 touchdowns to lead the No. 6 seed Broncos to a 52-27 victory over No. 2 seed Marian Central in a Class 5A quarterfinal Saturday at John Duffy Field in Lombard.
Three Montini receivers broke 100 yards in receiving: Anthony Taylor with 140 yards, Joey Borsellino with 104 plus 2 receiving touchdowns, and Jordan Westerkamp with game highs of 10 receptions, 160 yards and 4 touchdown grabs of 12, 44, 33 and 22 yards.
No matter how many players Marian Central assigned to Westerkamp — one, two, three — he was going to get his.
“We just had to make those pinpoint passes and John, unbelievable arm, can do that,” said the Nebraska-bound Westerkamp. “Coming out here and being able to execute like we did and be able to have double-move routes or whatever it took to get open, that was huge. And having John to be able to get the ball all the way out there, it was huge. We clicked today.”
Montini (10-2) led 42-13 by halftime, in no way resembling Marian Central's 21-20 Week 4 win over the Broncos.
“It was rough sitting out and watching us lose,” said Rhode, who back then was nursing a broken thumb on his right throwing hand. “I was glad to be back. The guys are glad to have me back, and this was just a great game. We played great.”
Unfortunately for Coach Ed Brucker's Hurricanes, Marian Central (11-1) did not.
After a first quarter in which Marian junior quarterback Chris Streveler scored on runs of 58 and 6 yards and Montini countered with Rhode touchdown passes to Westerkamp and Borsellino for a 14-13 Broncos lead, there were several plays the Hurricanes would like to have back.
A Marian defensive back batted a slant pass for Westerkamp straight to the alert Borsellino for a 6-yard touchdown catch and a 21-13 Broncos lead.
The Hurricanes muffed a punt, recovered by Montini's Charlie Long, which led to Westerkamp dusting a cornerback and safety on his 44-yard touchdown grab.
Then Montini cornerback Joe Cione made not one, not two, but three interceptions in the last four minutes of the first half.
“We prepared really well during the week and I read the quarterback's eyes,” Cione said. “I broke on the ball and just ran with it.”
His first pick, plus a 45-yard return, set up Borsellino running Wildcat for a 2-yard touchdown run. Cione's third pick preceded Rhode rolling right and finding Westerkamp behind triple coverage from 33 yards out for Montini's fourth unanswered touchdown.
“I just told the kids we had a great year and they had good senior leadership,” Brucker said. “We just didn't play well enough today. You can't make the mistakes we made today against a good team like that. That's the way it goes.”
Streveler, who ran for 135 yards and passed for 211, tried to make a game of it with a third-quarter touchdown pass to Nikko Theodorou and a 1-yard touchdown run, but Montini answered on Andrew Harte's 41-yard field goal and Westerkamp's fourth touchdown on a 22-yard hitch-and-go.
Thus, a repeat of last year's 5A semifinal, at No. 1 seed Kaneland (12-0), a 20-14 winner over Rochelle.
“When you start making plays and everybody's contributing, it's a great team effort,” said Montini coach Chris Andriano. “It's great, it's beautiful to see. We're peaking at the right time.”