Once Matt Morrissey came in, Montini looked like Montini again.
With starting quarterback Brad Norgle struggling, Broncos coach Chris Andriano replaced him with Morrissey halfway through the third quarter. After a three-and-out on his first drive, the junior settled in and led touchdown drives on his next two possessions.
Those points and a stout Montini defense enabled the host Broncos to hold off Lake Zurich 19-7 in a nonconference game in Lombard on Friday, Sept. 2.
“This was a big confidence game for us,” Andriano said. “I thought some kids really stepped up and performed in clutch situations. … We had nothing going on offense, then all of the sudden, we hit a couple of plays and things clicked.”
Montini was without star running back Prince Walker, who sat for the second straight game with a strained quad. Morrissey threw for 80 yards and a touchdown in a quarter-and-half of work.
“They were going three-and-out after three-and out (in the second quarter), but we weren’t scoring,” Lake Zurich coach David Proffitt said. “The big difference was when we were going three-and-out in the third quarter, they put points up on us. We didn’t do it, they did it. That was the difference.”
The Bears took a 7-6 lead in the first half with their only scoring drive of the game. On the drive’s biggest play, quarterback Evan Lewandowski found Jarred Winandy up the seam for 37 yards. One snap later, Lewandowski hit Joey Stutzman in the left flat, then the running back broke a tackle and walked into the end zone. The Bears held the lead for the remainder of the first half.
The Broncos (1-1) were able to bounce back from last week’s 44-13 loss at Maine South, to no surprise of their Week 2 opponent.
“Montini’s too well-coached,” Proffitt said. “I’ve known Chris (Andriano) for a hundred years. I knew they’d rebound from last week. I knew they’d come out with fire in their eyes, and they did.”
Rich Mayor is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @CityHall03
