Barrington gears up, wins road trip against Wheeling
It was a long, strange trip for Johnny Davidson and Barrington's football team this weekend.
But after traveling to Wheeling on Friday night and then to Arlington Heights to play at Hersey's field, Davidson and Barrington trucked its way to a 42-21 victory over Wheeling.
"I was happy the way the kids played, " Barrington coach Joe Sanchez said. "We didn't start the game last night the way we had hoped.
"I was proud of the way the kids bounced back, having to go through a delay and then come back. I thought our kids did a great job."
The game began Friday evening at Wheeling, but was suspended with just over a minute left in the first quarter due to the heavy storms that hit the area. When the game resumed Saturday, it was moved to Hersey because of an all -day band concert at Wheeling.
Davidson, who threw an early Pick 6 as Wheeling's Jason Shannon returned the ball 38 yards to stake the Wildcats took an early 7-0 lead.
But Barrington (4-0) began to cash in thanks to the play of Davidson. The senior scored a pair of touchdowns Friday on a 5-yard keeper and a 3-yard sneak to give the Broncos a 14-7 lead just before the storms kicked up Friday.
"It really wasn't too difficult to come back today and play," Davidson said. "We had the same thing happen to us our sophomore year."
Davidson, who was 10-for-10 on Saturday for 146 yards and finished 12-of-14 for 173 yards, said his early interception didn't faze him.
"It is definitely not the way to start," Davidson said. "I just tried to put it behind me and trust in my teammates."
Davidson continued to make the strange trip very comfortable for the Broncos on Saturday.
Davidson guided the Broncos on a pair of long scoring drives. Nate King (21 carries, 98 yards) scored on both of them, on runs of 1 and 12 yards, and Barrington took a 28-7 lead at the half, or in reality, the second quarter.
Davidson tossed a long pass to Logan Moews (7 receptions, 121 yards) to set up King's third touchdown run of the day to make it 35-7 midway through the third quarter. That play gave Davidson rest of the afternoon off.
Wheeling (0-4) scored on a run by Amani Dennis (18 carries, 110 yards) and on a 33-yard pass from Dennis to Johnny Campbell. Those scores sandwiched a 50-yard touchdown pass from Dillon Alexander to Josh Babicz.
"There is a definite group of kids on this team that plays hard and competes," Wheeling coach Brent Pearlman said. "Every game is a winnable game. You just have to play a certain way to win."