Broncos Ready For Home Opener

When it comes to their recent play against Elk Grove, would like history to repeat itself.

Since the 2006-07 football season, (0-1) and the Elk Grove Grenadiers (1-0) have faced off in three Mid-Suburban League conference crossover games, with the Broncos victorious in all three matchups.  Even though the margin of victory has been overwhelming for Barrington, averaging 40 points per contest while only giving up 12, the Grenadiers played well last year, forcing overtime in their emotional home opener that saw Barrington win 30-23.

The Broncos, coming off a 23-20 overtime loss last week to Libertyville, hope to get in the win column this week with the continued success of senior running back Chase Murdock.  would love to set the tone early with their power running game that saw them rush for 181 yards last week. That statistic is more deceiving at first glance, since Murdock rushed for 210 yards in the loss to the Wildcats. 

“We moved the ball well in the first half” against Libertyville, said coach Joe Sanchez said. “We had some penalties and some mishandling of the snap, and that set us back unfortunately.”   

Not one to make excuses, Sanchez believed that a key player’s absence was most likely felt and could explain some of the lapse in yardage.

“We played almost virtually that whole second half without arguably one of the best players in the state,” Sanchez said of senior lineman Dan Voltz who exited the game in the third quarter due to cramping.

Despite the injury to the big offensive lineman, Barrington still had 338 yards of total offense in the losing effort.  Senior quarterback Mark Bennett’s steady distribution to five different receivers kept the Wildcats secondary busy during the second half, including an incredible two-minute drive where he went 7 of 8 to help tie the game. A dramatic drive that ended with a 21-yard connection to Dylan Zyzda in the back of the end zone helped send the game to overtime.

For Barrington, the high level of offensive success against Libertyville can continue against Elk Grove, provided the running game continues. The Grenadiers defense allowed 207 yards of offense (97 yards rushing) to Highland Park for the season opener.

An effective running attack by the Broncos and a repeat performance by Murdock will force opponents to put more defenders near the line of scrimmage, allowing Bennett to find more open receivers. 

The Broncos running game wasn’t the only odd stat from the game against Libertyville because the defense only allowed 216 yards (42 yards passing) in the overtime loss. A couple of big plays — including the one small yard sneak in overtime — and Libertyville capitalizing on key penalty yards helped spoil ’s strong defensive effort.

And ’s defense once again will be tested in their home opener at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, when they battle Elk Grove to help highlight Military Appreciation Night.  Last season, Elk Grove relied heavily on the now departed all-area quarterback Nick Meyer, and this year, the task won’t get any easier for the Broncos.

Grenadier’s replacement quarterback is senior Dejan Basara and in Elk Grove’s 39-12 win at Highland Park, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder had a hand, or foot, in every point scored. Basara rushed for 132 yards and scored three touchdowns, but also passed for 135 yards and two more touchdowns.  And as if that wasn’t enough, Basara was 5-of-5 (one field goal) on kicks.

One of Elk Grove’s other offensive threats is senior Stefan Skoneczka.  This running back averaged more than three yards a carry against Highland Park and was one of two players with four catches. Fernando Lozano (four for 82 yards and a touchdown).

The key for Barrington will be the continued strong running of Murdock, which will not only put points on the board, but more importantly, it also will keep the ball out of the hands of Basara. If the Broncos can win the turnover battle and time of possession while cleaning up their penalties from last week, there is no reason Barrington can’t make history repeat one more year.