Montini’s two goal line stands help turn away St. Viator

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – Montini’s defense made a pair of goal line stands to help turn away St. Viator 31-14 Friday in Arlington Heights.

The Broncos stopped Viator early and then in the fourth quarter when the Lions were mounting a rally to keep Montini’s playoff hopes alive.

“We are a very physical team and we are proud of that,” Montini coach Mike Bukovsky said. “Tonight was a good example of that. But we have to make sure we work on the mental part of the game too.”

St. Viator (3-4), which has now lost its last four games, had an opportunity to get on the board first.

The Lions pushed the ball downfield from their own 35 to the Montini three. The Lions ran two passes plays from there, but the Broncos’ defense made a stand and turned Viator away.

“The push from our nose guard, Douglas Mateo, was huge,” Montini defensive lineman Nicky Castaldo said. “He drove the center right into them. That allowed the linebackers and everyone else to clean them up.”

Montini (4-3), which has now won three in a row, got on the board early in the second quarter.

After a short punt, Montini took over at their own 44. The Broncos moved it in four plays to the Viator 10. That’s where Jeremiah Peterson, with Viator players hanging on him, scored on a 10-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0.

The Broncos added to their lead after their next drive stalled at the Viator 19. Owen Berberich kicked a 36-yard field goal to make it 10-0.

Montini quarterback Israel Abrams, who is a sophomore and transferred from St. Viator, directed a nice scoring drive just before the end of the half. It was set up by an interception by Sean Hubeny at the Broncos’ 45.

Three plays later, Abrams broke a tackle and fired a long pass to CJ Harkins for a 49-yard pass play to the Viator three. With the clock winding down near that end of the half, Isaac Alexander crashed over for the touchdown and a 17-0 halftime lead.

Montini appeared to have the game well in hand with its start to the second half.

Harkins took the kickoff and returned it 87 yards to the Viator 11. On the first play from scrimmage, Peterson took it in to make it 24-0.

But instead of putting Viator asleep, it woke up the Lions.

They took their next two possessions and drove the field successfully on both behind the passing of Cooper Kmet (22-of-39, 205 yards). Michael Tauscher, whose tough running also gave Viator a spark, scored twice from the one-yard line and suddenly it was 24-12 just a few plays into the fourth quarter.

The Viator defense also picked up the pace. They had surrendered 204 yards in the first half but held Montini to 44 yards in the second half.

After another defensive stop, Viator’s offense got on the move again. The Lions got to the Montini two. But the Lions came up a yard short on fourth down.

“We got a good rush there and the linebackers did their job,” Montini defensive lineman JC Hayes said. “We have a lot of physical guys on the team. We practice hard and we play hard.”

Montini then took a safety with two minutes to play after failing to covert a first down. That cut their lead to 24-14.

Montini’s Santino Tenuta ended any Viator threat of a comeback. The junior linebacker stepped in front of a pop pass and picked off the ball, returning it untouched for a 62-yard touchdown.

“I was the QB spy there,” Tenuta said. “I saw the running back leak out and I knew I had to go get them right there.”

St. Viator will likely need to beat IC Catholic and St. Patrick in its final two games to make the playoffs. Viator coach Dave Archibald said that they will build off his team’s effort in the second half.

“We showed fight,” Archibald said. “But we need to thrive in the critical junctures of these games.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241011/prep-football/montini-builds-big-lead-hands-st-viator-its-4th-straight-loss/