Miller, Barrington zip past Buffalo Grove
Speed kills, and Barrington has plenty of it.
Scotty Miller, for instance, is fast.
How fast? Three touchdowns and 3 receptions for 145 yards. That fast. And a 56-yard punt return on which he looked trapped.
Barrington used his speed plus its cumulative defensive prowess and offensive firepower to overwhelm Buffalo Grove 45-0 Friday night at Grant Blaney Stadium in Buffalo Grove.
The Broncos remain undefeated (4-0) heading into the divisional portion of their Mid-Suburban League schedule versus powerhouse Schaumburg next week.
And their performance has put the Saxons on notice.
“We're happy with our improvement,” said Barrington coach Joe Sanchez, referring to last season's struggles, which suddenly seem very far away.
The Broncos rolled up 420 yards of total offense and opened like lightning on their first play, an 80-yard Dan Kubiuk-to-Miller TD pass on which the wideout ran away from everyone.
Miller followed up with a 56-yard punt return for a score and added a 56-yard jaunt for a TD, making a nice move to turn a short pass from Dan Kubiuk into a long gainer.
“They set up a great wall for me. They gave me the sideline,” Miller said of his special teams fellow players on the score that made it 14-0.
Actually, after the long bomb, Barrington's offense kind of sputtered against a determined BG squad lead by defensive backs Kouji Yoshida and Ronan Conaty and pass rushers Corey Gill and Michael Dax.
But Barrington's defense never let BG get field position, limiting what coach Mike DiMatteo could call for his first-time starting sophomore quarterback, Trey Cervantes. He showed athleticism and elusiveness, but too often was under pressure from J.P. Brooks and Colin Castagna. When they weren't on him, Kyle Meckert was.
“Our defense kept us in the game,” said Sanchez. “I was happy with the way we came out in the second half.”
Despite the sound result, Barrington fells like it still has work to do.
“We've still got room to get better,” said Sanchez.
Not much, though. When Miller and Kubiuk weren't killing it, Dumaso Mkwananzi was getting it done at running back, finishing with 75 yards on just 13 carries.
Kubiuk, meanwhile, pretty much had his way, hitting Matt Moran for a TD on a slick diving catch and even getting a completion on a tipped ball from one teammate to another.
“We have a good connection,” Miller said of long-time friend Kubiuk. “We work in practice a lot. We have good chemistry.”
BG would love to have such a connection, and getting back six injured starters sure wouldn't hurt. One did come back — Scott Smithern, who rushed for 32 yards on 7 tough carries — but BG couldn't sustain much against Barrington's aggressive defense.
“Our guys are going to play hard,” DiMatteo said. “Barrington's a well-coached team. They just outplayed us.”
He liked his sophomore QB but especially the attitude of senior Andrew Apel, the QB who moved to his natural wideout position without a whimper, showing the kind of leadership DiMatteo appreciates. Apel caught 5 passes for 34 yards and rushed 4 times for 12 more.
Barrington got all its depth involved, as place kicker Dylan Abel scored a TD on a 2-yard run and added a 22-yard field goal. Adam Broomfield had a TD run of 6 yards.
Now though, “We've got to keep focused,” said Miller. “Every week, we've got to be 1-0. Every week.”