advertisement

Barrington passes Hoffman's tough test

Barrington's ground-and-pound approach was just effective enough the help the Broncos escape host Hoffman Estates' huge upset bid Friday.

Barrington rushed for 448 yards, which included a 9-yard touchdown run by Logan Moews with 4:33 to play as the Broncos rallied to beat the Hawks 45-41 in a Mid-Suburban West matchup.

"They came out and played really, really well tonight," Barrington coach Joe Sanchez said. "I am proud of our kids and how resilient they were. They found a way to get it done tonight and made enough plays to win."

Barrington (7-0, 3-0) needed every play to hold off a stubborn Hoffman Estates team that also refused to give in. But thanks to the running of Moews, who finished with 192 yards and 4 touchdowns and quarterback Ray Niro, who had 202 yards and 2 touchdowns, the Broncos remained unbeaten.

"I made some good reads, but the blockers made their blocks," Niro said. "The wide receivers also did a good job of stalk-blocking downfield to help spring some of our runs."

Moews was a beast again following the the blocking of his plowboys (Nick Bart, John Stefan, Mark Bach, Brad Warman and Eric Padilla) to carry the ball 29 times.

"Our linemen do a great job of getting us out there," Moews said. "I just follow them. We needed to get some hard-fought yards, especially at the end."

Hoffman Estates quarterback Austin Coalson was sensational in the loss. The junior threw for 5 touchdowns and was 26-of-31 for 356 yards for the Hawks (6-2, 1-2).

"My wide receivers were making some unbelievable plays," said Coalson, who had a stretch of 16 consecutive completions. "They were doing nothing but helping me out. They did exactly what we needed to do for us."

The teams seemed bent on breaking Hoffman Estates' new scoreboard in the first quarter, when they combined for 3 touchdowns in less than 90 seconds.

Coalson had a pair of touchdown passes to Flyin Aladdin that covered 26 and 55 yards. Sandwiched between those was a 48-yard touchdown run by Moews at the Hawks led 14-7.

Barrington took control from there, scoring 17 unanswered points. Niro scored from 9 yards out and Moews from the 1, while Matt Infante nailed a 32-yard field goal just before the end of the half to put the Broncos up 24-14.

The exploding scoreboard continued as the teams combined to score on the game's next 5 possessions.

Coalson threw 9 yards to Jayvon Blissett for Hoffman. Moews tallied on a 15-yard run. Coalson and Blissett combined again from 10 yards out. Niro blasted off a 74-yard run and Coalson hooked up with Alande for the third time on a 17-yard touchdown pass to make it 38-35 with 11:36 to play.

Barrington had a chance to open up a 10-point lead again on its next possession. But the Broncos, who were whistled for 100 yards of penalties, had a TD called back for an illegible receiver downfield.

After a punt gave them the ball at their own 20, Hoffman Estates wasted little time on offense. Coalson completed 3 passes for 80 yards, with the final 9 going to Jaylan Alexander and with 5:50 to play, and Hoffman Estates led 41-38.

Barrington kept the ball on the ground and went 75 yards in 5 plays with Moews scoring from the 9 with 4:33 left to make it 45-41.

Hoffman moved the ball to midfield. But with just over three minutes to play, Alec Andrea picked off an errant pass to give the Broncos the ball back. They then were able to run out the clock, thanks to converting a fourth-and-3 at the Hoffman 43.

"Offensively, our kids were on fire," Hoffman Estates coach Mike Donatucci said. "We just didn't have an answer for the power offense. They were running at will. But we battled. And when we get to the playoffs, we are going to be a team to be reckoned with."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.