Barrington blocks its way past Prospect
Offensive lines are overlooked at times when quarterbacks and running backs produce big games.
But Barrington's offensive line was hard to miss as it gave visiting Prospect fits in the Broncos' 49-7 win in a Mid-Suburban League crossover.
"We knew coming into this season that how well we do would start with the guys up front," said Barrington coach Joe Sanchez. "These players know how to make adjustments, they communicate well, and they are a very calm group."
Tackles Brad Warman and Nick Bart, guards Eric Padilla and John Stefan and center Mark Bach made the (1-1) Knights' defense miserable.
Barrington powered for 410 rushing yards on 46 attempts and passed for 134 yards for a total of 544.
Quarterback Ray Niro led all rushers with 217 yards in 10 carries and a touchdown. Logan Moews rushed 15 times for 95 yards and scored 4 touchdowns.
"Ray would tell you it was the guys up front and the skill players that made this all happen," said Sanchez.
"Ray reads the defenses real well and has great field vision, he deserves a lot of credit," said Bach, a returning starter. "Coach (Steve) Galovich really helps us prepare well for the games. We thought their defense would stunt more, but our game is power football.
"We've played well together in our first two games. We just want to enjoy the season and have fun."
The Knights started out well with all-purpose player Dante Cecala returning the opening kickoff 41 yards to Barrington's 45.
Prospect though fumbled the ball at the Broncos' 30, with Barrington's Parker Goodwin recovering the ball before it went out of bounds.
On the first play from scrimmage, Niro went 70 yards on a quarterback draw. Matt Infante kicked the first of his 7 extra point kicks.
"That was a big momentum play" said Sanchez. "If we don't recover, they still keep the ball and they were driving."
Moews scored from the 28 with 4:00 left in the first and then from the 9 with 7:15 left in the first half.
Prospect struck back to cut the score to 21-7 when quarterback Andrew Shafis hit Zach Gleason with a 43-yard touchdown pass with 6:53 left in the half.
The Broncos countered with Niro throwing a 8 yard pass to Josh Babicz and then seeing Moews scoring with :10 left and a 42-7 lead.
Ethan Glowacki scored from the 8 on Barrington's first possession of the second half and a 49-7 lead.
The Broncos defense led by Navy recruit Jackson Perkins limited the Knights to 128 yards rushing and 43 yards passing.
"We were well prepared mentally and physically," said Perkins. "We knew they could run the ball. We shut down their inside game and forced them outside. Our defense executed well."
"We started out slow again this week,"said Prospect coach Mike Sebestyen. "Unlike last week we weren't able to recover from our mistakes. Give Barrington credit - they are a very good football team. I told the team we had a 'clunker' tonight and we can't have any more of those this season."