Montini tunes it up against St. Joseph

Once sophomore running back Prince Walker ran it in from 18 yards out in the first quarter, Montini never looked back.

St. Joseph (2-4) was seemingly overmatched from the beginning, as the Chargers could not get much going on the ground or through the air as the Broncos (4-2) rolled to a 49-7 victory Friday in Lombard.

Broncos senior quarterback Charles Norgle III lit up the Chargers defense, throwing for nearly 200 yards in the first half. The run game was just as effective, with Walker gobbling up 137 first-half yards.

The Broncos were able to take advantage good field position, taking advantage of short fields with ease as they scored on almost every possession. Norgle's night was finished after the first half, but the senior saw something early on that let him know it would be an efficient performance.

"They were playing a 3-4 with stand-up rush ends, but they were playing a soft man and respecting our guys' athleticism and speed. We were just able to use our athletes and get open in space," Norgle said.

The game provided a much-needed tune-up for the Broncos, who face St. Francis in conference play next week. Norgle was humble after the victory, saying sometimes these wins are unsatisfying but are necessary to build momentum.

Chargers, meanwhile, can be saluted for their effort. With only 20 players on the roster, most were two-way position players. While they remained disciplined and did not commit a penalty, they simply could not handle the size of the Broncos' skill players.

Broncos coach Chris Andriano saw this game as a gauge for what he has in terms of offensive weapons on his team heading into a tough conference slate.

"You get to play everybody, so everybody gets a chance show their abilities," he said. "We had a couple kids who showed some pretty good things; (quarterback) Justin Blake can really run, so there's another weapon we can use.

"We are looking at it more as what we can continue to do against good teams, and we had some guys step tonight which is good. It's good to get everyone in the game - but now, the games get tough again."