Montini follows through against St. Francis
St. Francis’ offense rolled like a dark-blue wave on its first possession Friday. Then Montini dropped anchor.
The Broncos took St. Francis’ opening shot and answered with a 28-7 victory in a Suburban Christian Conference Blue Division slugfest at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn.
Montini’s Dimitri Taylor ran 25 times for 173 yards and touchdowns of 3 and 5 yards. Broncos quarterback Alex Wills completed 16 of 28 passes for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“He’s trying to mix it up a little bit more to confuse teams,” Taylor said of Montini offensive coordinator Lewis Borsellino. “They know we’re a strictly pass team, but now we’re mixing it up so it’s harder for teams to predict our plays.”
It’s tricky also to figure St. Francis’ Wing-T. The shell game with Spartans backs Dan Beck and T.J. Jackson, plus a 15-yard Michael Robinson pass to Andrew Brundage, had St. Francis sailing 80 yards in 14 plays for a 7-0 lead on Robinson’s sneak. St. Francis (3-1, 1-1) gained 7 first downs in the first 5:56 — and 6 more the rest of the night.
“The first possession they kind of surprised us with a few formations,” said Montini defensive end Fred Beaugard, part of a strong front including Edgar Ruano, Liam Kennedy and Dylan Thompson. “When we got to the sideline after they scored we adjusted.”
Montini (3-1, 2-0) scored on its first three possessions. Taylor motored 3 yards behind right tackle Phil Kesik, and after a defensive stop Wills hit Mike Dusek on an 11-yard pass to cap a 13-play drive.
Joey Borsellino, less than 100 percent after a Week 1 knee sprain, looked healthy enough making a nifty spin move on a 12-yard touchdown catch for a 21-7 halftime lead.
Twice in the third quarter St. Francis got inside Montini’s 10-yard line without scoring. Shortly after gaining its first first down in about 23 minutes of play, on fourth-and-3 from the 7 Robinson got stuffed on a bootleg.
Colin Baumgartner’s interception and 16-yard return then had the Spartans at Montini’s 23. A run by Jackson — he ran for 78 yards, Beck for 77 — earned a first down at the 7. Broncos linebacker Joseph Nitti sacked Robinson, and three incompletions later St. Francis left scoreless.
“I’m really pleased with the way we played defense in the second half,” said Spartans coach Greg Purnell. “They gave us a lot of opportunities and we’ve got to be able to connect on them. After the first drive we just did not play good offensive football.”