Montini tops JCA, 29-28

Inconsistency spoils JCA bid for 14th state championship

CHAMPAIGN — All-state linebacker Jake Stockman called it a matter of consistency — on both sides of the ball.

He had seen that before.

Joliet Catholic Academy’s shot at a record 14th state football championship fell short by the narrowest of margins Saturday morning as Montini drove 83 yards for a touchdown with 32 seconds left, then converted a two-point conversion pass by inches to beat the Hilltoppers 29-28 in the Class 5A state final at Memorial Stadium on the University of Illinois campus.

The discussion afterward centered on the guts of Montini coach Chris Andriano going for the victory rather than tying with a kick to force overtime.

But as much as they doled out due credit to Broncos, Stockman, JCA coach Dan Sharp and the rest of Hilltoppers’ knew it did not have to come down to that.

“We weren’t consistent offensively or defensively,” Stockman said. “We thought we were out on ’em when we got the early 14-0 lead, but we had bad consistency everywhere.

“It was kind of deja vu with early in the year.”

The Hilltoppers (11-3) lost to Providence Catholic in Week 2, and after a loss to Marist in Week 6, they were 4-2. Since then, they had won seven straight in impressive fashion.

A major reason was they had shred the turnover bug that plagued their young cast early on.

On Saturday, on the most inopportune stage, it returned. JCA lost three fumbles, which helped underdog Montini think “game on.” And as with any good team, you let the Broncos (10-4) hang around, and you are asking for trouble.

“We have no one to blame for fumbles, missed blocks or missed tackles,” Stockman said. “On defense, we seemed to have two good plays, and then we’d mess one up.”

JCA had erased a 21-20 deficit and gone ahead 28-21 with 10:50 left when sophomore wingback Malin Jones capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown run where he bowled over two would-be tacklers. Jones had made the key run in the drive when he banged his way to a 5-yard pickup on fourth-and-4 from the JCA 42.

“When we got ahead 28-21, I felt we would be able to get the ball back and move it,” Sharp said. “We did force them to punt and got the ball back twice, but we couldn’t get the first down.

“I was concerned all week about Montini, and when that happened, when we didn’t move the ball there, I was really concerned.”

Brandon Pechloff, Montini’s 6-foot-6 senior quarterback, completed 16-of-28 passes for 189 yards and did some key throwing on the winning drive.

But the uh-ohs started with 3:17 remaining, when Stockman’s 55-yard punt rolled dead at the Montini 17. Someone forgot to tell the Bulldogs how discouraging that should have been. On the first play, Nick Campanella blew through a hole up the middle and took it 37 yards to the JCA 46.

Campanella, who transferred to Montini when Driscoll closed, rushed for 160 yards in 13 carries and caught 4 passes for 52 yards.

“That was a huge run up the middle,” Stockman said of Campanella’s 37-yard burst. “We had a mixup on our gap responsibilities, and he made a nice cut.”

Pechloff then took over, and finally, on second-and-goal from the 12, Christian Westerkamp ran a route to the left side of the end zone, broke open and gathered in the strike to make it 28-27 with 0:32 to go.

Montini first lined up as if it were going for the tie, but called timeout and sent in the offense. Pechloff again found Westerkamp — this time as he straddled the goal line. The official immediately signaled it was good, and the Broncos began to celebrate.

JCA sophomore quarterback Anthony Maddie missed four passes on the next series. It was over.

“This definitely was one heck of a game,” Sharp said. “I credit Coach Andriano, his staff and the Montini players. They are one of the best teams we have seen, and they made the plays at the end to win.”

And, it all came down to a two-point conversion that barely broke the plane of the goal line.

“A state championship game comes down to a couple of inches, it’s tough from our standpoint,” said Sharp, whose JCA teams had won all six of their previous appearances in the state finals. “It was a great catch and throw on their part.”

JCA, which has finished as a state runnerup three times, closed with 350 rushing yards but did not complete any of its eight pass attempts. Jones led the charge with 141 yards in 17 carries. Senior fullback Jordan Lyles chipped in with 121 in 12 trips, making him the third Hilltopper back to exceed 1,000 yards for the season. Junior Josh Ferguson added 96 in 23 trips. “Our running game was outstanding,” Sharp said. “But the key was they held us to two three-and-outs in the fourth quarter, when we needed to keep their powerful offense off the field.”

The three lost fumbles in the first half also hurt the Hilltoppers, with each of the three backs dropping one. After Stockman recovered a Montini fumble on the second play from scrimmage at the Broncos’ 19, Jones was battling for extra yardage when he coughed up the ball at the 11.

“During the week, I wasn’t nervous, and like any game, you want to go out and play your hardest,” Jones said. “But when you get here, the atmosphere just changes.”

JCA senior safety Garrett Earl intercepted a pass at the Montini 44 later in the first quarter, and the Hilltoppers moved 44 yards in 4 plays, with Lyles scoring from 18 yards out. Rob Cranmer’s kick made it 7-0.

JCA junior cornerback Breion Tucker then intercepted a deflected pass, and the Hilltoppers marched 64 yards in 11 plays, scoring on Jones’ 8-yard run, to make it 14-0 with 4:12 left in the first quarter.

“We had a real good game plan all week, and we moved the ball at the beginning,” Lyles said. “We knew we had to run the ball, and we felt even at the end that our offense had momentum. Their defense was the real deal, yet we moved it on them.

“But they were stripping the ball well. We really had to cover the ball to stop the turnovers.”

A sack by senior defensive end John Broderick forced a punt midway through the second quarter, but Ferguson fumbled on the return at the 19. Montini marched it in to make it 14-7 with 4:33 left before halftime.

After JCA took over on the 26, Lyles went for 16 and 15 in consecutive plays. Unfortunately, he fumbled on the tail end of the second run, and Montini recovered. The Broncos drove 64 yards in 7 plays and scored to tie it on Pechoff’s 14-yard pass to Westerkamp with 1:20 left before the break.

At that, the Hilltoppers journeyed to Montini’s 21-yard line when the half ended.

The opening drive of the third quarter turned huge. JCA marched to a third-and-1 at the Montini 7, but Ferguson was thrown for a 4-yard loss running wide to set up fourth-and-5 at the 11.

Maddie ran a bootleg left but was knocked out of bounds at the 9 as Montini held.

The Hilltoppers’ defense picked up the offense when linebacker Zach Dolph — who made 6 solo tackles and 15 total — caught a fumble forced by junior safety Travis Jensen and took it 41 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. A bobbled snap on the conversion left it 20-14 JCA with 4:58 left in the third quarter.

Montini retaliated with a 4-play, 71-yard TD drive capped by Ryan Gorrell’s 25-yard run on a draw play. The conversion gave the Broncos a 21-20 lead.

“They’re a great team,” Jensen said. “It’s hard to stop them when they are fantastic at what they do.”

The Hilltoppers came back with their long go-ahead drive, but when push came to shove in the fourth quarter, Montini got it done.

“Effort was not a problem,” Sharp said. “I’m proud of the boys in brown.

“The turnovers were a key, yes, but our defense got some turnovers, too.”

“When we went ahead 14-0, I was ready to win a state championship,” Jensen said. “But all those turnovers on both sides in the first half, they changed the game.”

A game that came down to a two-point conversion. And inches.