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Maine South comeback stuns Montini

Maine South scored three times in the final 3:04 of the game to pull off an incredible 36-35 victory against Montini on Friday in Park Ridge.

Montini sophomore Prince Walker ran for a game-high 99 yards on 20 carries with 1 touchdown.

"It's a heartbreaker, really," said Broncos coach Chris Andriano. "I mean, we played a great game all the way up through the fourth quarter and then we collapsed. You got to give them credit, they never give up. We just couldn't figure out a few things out at the end of the game to run out the clock. It's our own fault."

Justin Fahey opened the scoring with a 6-yard run in the first quarter to give the Hawks a 6-0 lead. The Broncos came back with a 23-yard interception return for a touchdown by Michael Hollingshed to regain the lead 7-6.

The Broncos opened a commanding 35-15 lead on a 52-yard reception by senior Leon Thornton III from quarterback Chuck Norgle with 5:59 left in the game.

"The whole game we were strong," said Indiana recruit Thornton. "We just didn't get it done with the mental mistakes. Everything was in place for us to win that game.

"I addressed the team (at halftime) and said that we have to come out with the same intensity that we did in the beginning of the game. We just got complacent I guess."

With 3:04 left in the game, Hawks quarterback Brian Collis hit Vinny Labus with a 13-yard pass to start the comeback. Dan Ellsworth picked up a Montini fumble on the 1-yard line on the ensuing kickoff, followed by Collis scoring on a 1-yard sneak 33 seconds later.

With 13 seconds left in the game, Davis Neilands blocked a Broncos punt in the end zone to tie the game 35-35. Sean McNulty kicked the extra point to for the win.

"Defensively, we gave up too many points in that second half," said Hawks coach David Inserra. "I thought we were playing great in the first half. They ran 19 plays in the first half ... They're a great team, great program. Talk about a program that knows how to win, to be able have a comeback that way makes it even more special."

"We just tactically and strategy-wise fell apart," Andriano said. "That's pretty much on (our) coaches. We did not perform up to our standards, the coaching staff included."

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