Joe Borsellino and Mark Gorogianis helped the Broncos come back from an early scare against the Bremen en route to a 54-13 first-round victory to keep its hopes alive for a fourth straight 5A state title.
Junior quarterback Alex Wills struggled in his return from a concussion and threw two interceptions to Corey Dalton, the second returned for a touchdown, on the team’s first two possessions.
On the ensuing possession, Borsellino (33 yards rushing, TD, five catches, 92 yards, two TDs) was inserted at quarterback and led Montini on a touchdown drive in which he took the direct snap 11 yards to the end zone.
“I knew we would drive down field and score,” he said. “That touchdown brought us back.”
After the Borsellino score, Gorogianis took over the quarterback duties and led the Broncos on four touchdown drives including two of his own, one through the air to Borsellino and another in which he won a sprint to the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown.
The senior had to admit after the game he didn’t see himself playing quarterback today with Wills returning from a concussion but did point out he’ll always be ready.
“I’ve played quarterback the past couple of games, but when they needed me I just needed to step up.”
Dimitri Taylor added 151 yards rushing and two scores and kicker Andrew Harte made all four of his field goal attempts including a 50-yard kick as time expired in the first half for Montini (8-2).
The Broncos’ defense also came up strong limiting the Braves (6-4) to 153 yards of total offense.
“You’re going to face some adversity in the playoffs, but we have a lot of experience,” Montini coach Chris Andriano said. “I give the team a lot of credit for not hitting the panic button.”
