LOMBARD — For the previous two weeks, St. Joseph gave up a combined 90 points.
The Chargers on Friday surrendered 42 points to Montini (4-2) in the first half alone.
St. Joe’s rushing defense didn’t seem to have an answer for sophomore running back Prince Walker. The Bronco ball carrier got it going with an 18-yard touchdown run on Friday, paving the way to a 49-7 nonconference rout. Walker was at it again later in the first quarter with a 15-yard TD run that pushed the Broncos ahead 21-0.
Montini senior quarterback Charles Norgle picked apart the Chargers defense. He passed for four TDs in the first half. He tossed a 28-yard scoring strike to junior Justin Blake, then senior Leon Thornton hauled in a 25-yard TD pass with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Norgle would continue to have his way with St. Joseph (2-4) with a 34-yard bomb to junior Tyler Millikan. The Broncos quarterback finished the half with 10 completions for 181 yards.
The Chargers struggled on offense, as well, and went the entire first half without recording a first down. Sophomore tailback Armone Elem tried to spin, cut and run his way to get something going for the Chargers. He managed 28 yards on 14 carries in the first half.
The second half was much more contained. The only Broncos’ score came on a 40-yard spurt by Blake, who took over for Norgle at quarterback, to cap Montini’s scoring with 9:22 left.
St. Joseph adverted the shutout after Elem exploded for 79 yards down to the Montini 1-yard line.
“My line made some great blocks and I got an open field,” Elem said. “That was my linemen.”
Elem’s burst set up a bootleg around the left side into the end zone by senior quarterback Elijah Davis, who appreciated Elem’s effort.
“If it wasn’t for him and that long run, I wouldn’t have scored,” Davis said. “I tip my hat off to him. He played a great game, we all played a great game as a team. It was a tough loss but we just got to go to practice and regroup.”
St. Joseph head coach Anthony Griffin had high praise for Elem’s accomplishments.
“The kid’s a talented, young player,” Griffin said. “We think that he’s one of the best running backs in the area. He should get a ton of Division I looks because he’s a gamer. He’s an athlete, he makes phenomenal plays. No matter who the opponent is, he works hard and we’re happy to have him.”
The Chargers have another rugged Catholic League crossover opponent next week in St. Rita and Griffin’s expectations are set.
“Come out and compete,” he said. “Have fun and compete and do the best we can.”
This story has been changed to reflect the following correction:
The Montini quarterback’s last name was misspelled. He is Charles Norgle, not Nogle.
