Barrington blitzes South Elgin with 64-point onslaught

SOUTH ELGIN – Fresh from a Class 8A state semifinal appearance a year ago, Barrington’s football team picked up where it left off on Friday night.

Scoring on eight of their first nine possessions, the Broncos built a commanding 43-point halftime lead on the way to a 64-21 season-opening, nonconference triumph over host South Elgin.

“It’s just a credit to the boys and the coaches,” said Barrington coach Joe Sanchez, whose team scored a pair of touchdowns in the first four-plus minutes thanks in part to a shaky start by the Storm.

“The guys from last year’s group — they set the standard in terms of what and how it needs to be done,” Sanchez said. “These guys have taken off and put their own spin on it.”

After a 3-and-out defensive series and 4-yard South Elgin punt, Broncos tailback Calvin Jackson scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 24-yard run to give Barrington a 7-0 lead.

Another special teams miscue by the Storm on the next possession allowed the Broncos to take the ball inside the 5-yard line, and Jackson’s 3-yard TD run made it 14-0.

Broncos senior quarterback Nick Peipert, who finished 10 of 10 for 240 yards, tossed the first of his 4-first-half touchdown passes — a 39-yard strike to Ian Tepas for a 22-0 lead. Three minutes later, Peipert connected with Tepas for a 30-yard TD pass to make it 29-0.

“We have a segment called, ‘off the bus,’” Peipert said. “We’ve got to go be physical and ready to hit right off the bus.”

South Elgin capped a wild opening quarter with a touchdown of its own, an 80-yard pass from quarterback Jack Ginnan to senior receiver Ishmael George (5 catches, 135 yards).

However, Barrington scored 4 of the next 5 touchdowns, highlighted by Peipert’s 83-yard scoring pass to Matt Kania, and Kania’s electrifying, 94-yard kickoff return for a score.

“We wanted to play fast and catch the defense off guard,” Kania said

“It was great play calling,” added Peipert, who didn’t play in the second half. “We had a great week practicing, and the receivers did their thing.”

Peipert’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Austin Munson capped the first-half scoring barrage and set off a running clock the rest of the way.

“Things were just going our way tonight,” Sanchez said. “They’re (the Storm) a good football team that is going win a lot of games. It’s a good start — but it’s one game.”

Backup quarterback Carter McDonald threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to George in the second quarter before Darrion Thurman’s 25-yard TD run closed out the scoring for the Storm.

“Coach Sanchez does an amazing job,” Storm coach Pat Pistorio said. “They were really prepared — explosive offensively and tough up top on defense. We had some critical errors early. Our nerves got a little bit of us early on, but we’re going to grow from this.

“This is something we needed to have in place for our program to take the next step. We’re excited about the future.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20240830/prep-football/barrington-blitzes-south-elgin-in-impressive-opener/