Montini football is our No. 3 high school dynasty for boys sports
Editor's note: The Daily Herald is counting down the Top 10 boys and girls high school sports dynasties over the past 20 years, two at a time. We continue today at No. 3 with Montini football and Hinsdale Central girls tennis.
Montini went for 2.
It got much more than that.
Brandon Pechloff's 2-point conversion pass to Christian Westerkamp beat Joliet Catholic 29-28 in the 2009 Class 5A football championship.
It also launched a dynasty.
“That's when everybody really started believing what was going on, the whole ‘team first' thing. It became a motto they all bought into,” said coach Chris Andriano, who retired in 2016 after 38 seasons and 300 victories.
Montini won four straight Class 5A titles from 2009-12, reached seven straight title games including a 2015 Class 6A win and returned as Class 5A runner-up in 2018.
The state's sole coach with seven straight championship appearances, Andriano's 2004 squad also won the Class 4A title with Mike Mucha, Joey Borsellino, Joe Davis and 28-sack man Marty Hyland.
“I know when I first started with him in 1990 it took us 14 years to break the seal, so to speak, and it was a lot of time and a lot of effort,” said Mike Bukovsky, alumnus, defensive coordinator and Andriano's successor as head coach.
Montini and Joliet Catholic nearly broke the scoreboard in 2011. Montini won 70-45 in a game that set or tied 22 Class 5A title-game records and 18 overall title-game records.
Nebraska-bound receiver Jordan Westerkamp, cinching state records for career receiving yards and touchdown receptions, caught 12 passes for 353 yards and 5 touchdowns. John Rhode passed for 587 yards, 7 touchdowns.
Beating Chatham-Glenwood and Morris during its run, Montini lost to Sacred-Heart Griffin in 2013 and 2014, no shame there.
Quarterback Justin Blake and tailback Prince Walker ran for a total of 361 yards, 5 touchdowns in the 2015 Class 6A win over Crete-Monee to cap a 14-0 season.
Montini fell to Joliet Catholic in the 2018 Class 5A championship. It was the Broncos' eighth title bid in 10 seasons.
What a journey.
“It's always been a source of pride,” Bukovsky said.