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Montini's fourth-quarter comeback stuns Prairie Ridge

As the Montini football team and its fans celebrated its 35-27 Class 6A semifinal victory over Prairie Ridge on Saturday, there was talk this victory was the greatest game played on the Montini football field.

And who could argue with that line of thinking? The Broncos (13-0), a No. 1 seed in Class 6A, scored 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and edged a tough No. 2-seeded Prairie Ridge (11-2) squad in conditions that were blizzard-like through the first half. And don't forget the duck that stood on the field early in the third quarter starting at the Montini sideline.

Next for the Broncos is the Class 6A title game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Northern Illinois University's Huskie Stadium in DeKalb against the winner of the other Class 6A semifinal played Saturday night between sixth-seeded Crete-Monee and No. 13 seed HInsdale South. It will be the Broncos' sixth consecutive appearance in a state final.

"We were not going to let this special moment get away because the other team wanted it more," said Montini coach Chris Andriano. "It was a great comeback by our kids. It was gutcheck time. It was a great effort by both sides."

The Wolves led 27-13 after the third quarter, but the Broncos' comeback started on the last play of that period. Broncos quarterback Justin Blake found Mitch West for a 34-yard pass play; West made a diving catch with two Prairie Ridge defenders sandwiched around him.

Montini didn't skip a beat. Blake threw to a wide-open Tyler Millikan on the first play of the final quarter for a 40-yard touchdown. Prince Walker made good on the 2-point conversion run and the Broncos cut the Wolves' lead to 27-20.

Then Montini came up big on Prairie Ridge's subsequent possession, and the game's momentum took a big shift toward the Broncos' favor. A Wolves' fumble was picked up by Jake Kapp and returned it 46 yards to the end zone with 9:05 left in the game. Michael Cooney's extra point gave Montini a 28-27 lead.

"That (play) was huge. It was a big momentum shift and everybody was re-energized," Kapp said.

Montini got some breathing room when Blake scored his second touchdown of the contest on a 9-yard run with 4:42 remaining.

"It feels so good. There's no way to explain it," Blake said. "We wanted to make sure that we did not let down and the seniors didn't want it to be their last game. Prairie Ridge is a great team. They're the best team we've played this season."

While this contest wasn't a pass-free zone, the total number of passes thrown by both quarterbacks was in the single digits. And the teams were able to get enough traction to run the ball in the first half, which saw the worse weather conditions.

Blake's first TD was a 53-yard run 2:26 into the game.

"I think in eighth grade I played a game in the snow. But not like this and not a semifinal," the senior said.

Images: Prairie Ridge vs. Montini football playoffs

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