Oct. 10--Montini flashed its defense against a good St. Francis offense on Friday night and came away with a 27-8 victory in Lombard.
The No. 5 Broncos (7-0, 2-0 Chicago Catholic Green) forced five turnovers, two on interceptions by Caleb Stevenson that turned into 10 points. St. Francis was stopped twice inside the 9-yard line in the first half, but managed to keep from getting shut out with a fourth-quarter touchdown.
"One of my goals is to go undefeated," said Montini quarterback Justin Blake, who ran for 172 yards on 11 carries. "We're just taking it one game at a time and trying to get to the playoffs."
In the first quarter, Stevenson picked off the Spartans at the 1 and two plays later, Blake sprinted up the middle for a 94-yard touchdown with 2 minutes, 12 seconds left for a 7-0 lead.
On the Spartans' next possession, Stevenson intercepted his second pass, at the St. Francis 25. That led to a 44-yard field goal by Michael Cooney and a 10-0 lead.
John Embrey hauled in the first of his two interceptions in the third quarter, taking it 31 yards into the end zone for a 17-0 lead. Prince Walker put the game away on a 44-yard gallop that made it 27-0 with 10:12 left in the fourth.
The Broncos' win avenged a 31-7 loss at St. Francis last year.
"We were thinking all off-season about how we had to redeem ourselves," Blake said. "Our defense was great tonight."
St. Francis (4-3, 1-1) pushed into Montini territory several times on the strength of quarterback Peter Fassnacht's connection with receivers William Purdom and Brett Whelton.
The Spartans broke the shutout on a 14-yard pass from Fassnacht to Purdom with 7:07 left to play.
Bob Hurst is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
Player of the game: Caleb Stevenson, Montini, 2 INTs.
Key performers: Montini -- Justin Blake, 11 carries, 172 yards, 94-yd TD run; Prince Walker, 20 carries, 134 yards, TD. St. Francis -- Peter Fassnacht, 31-for-41 passing, 282 yards, TD; William Purdom, 14 receptions, 125 yards, TD; Brett Whelton, 15 receptions, 136 yards.
