High-powered Barrington blows past Elk Grove

ELK GROVE VILLAGE — It didn’t take Barrington long to get on the scoreboard Friday night in Elk Grove.

In fact it was just a matter of seconds.

Barrington’s Terry McGovern took the opening kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown, stunning the home crowd. That was just the start for the Broncos (2-0), who looked like a fine-tuned machine both offensively and defensively in winning 41-13.

Following a 2-yard touchdown run by J.T. Henderson on the first play of the second quarter, the Broncos found themselves up 14-0. But they may have got a little too comfortable too soon.

The Grenadiers (0-2) responded with a 14-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Lorenz to Nico Quirindongo, then recovered a surprise onside kick. That combination found the end zone again — this time on fourth down as Lorenz hit Quirindongo for a 33-yard touchdown pass — as Barrington’s 14-point lead was cut to one after a missed extra point.

But after that, it was all Barrington.

“I wasn’t surprised that they [the Grenadiers] were able to make some plays and get back in the game,” Barrington coach Joe Sanchez said. “I was proud of our guys for the way they responded. That was the first real adversity we faced this year.”

After giving up those 13 straight points, the Broncos defense clamped down and forced Elk Grove into some tough situations. They avoided giving up big plays, keeping the game in their control.

“I was really happy about our defense,” Sanchez said. “They were able to stand up and hold them out of the end zone in the second half.”

On the offensive side, Broncos junior quarterback Johnny Davidson put together another impressive game in just the second start of his career.

Davidson completed his first eight passes of the game before throwing an interception in the final minute of the first half. It was the only incompletion Davidson had all night as he finished 14-for-15 for 207 yards and a touchdown.

“I was a lot less nervous than the first start getting that out of the way,” Davidson said. “I knew we were well prepared and knew it was going to be a good game all-around.”

The Broncos complied over 400 yards of total offense, including 216 on the ground. Their ground game was led by Henderson, who transferred from Elk Grove his junior year. For Henderson, playing against his former teammates provided a little extra motivation.

“It’s really weird seeing the field from this side,” said Henderson. “I was really trying to bruise them today. I love those kids, but I wanted to show them what they were missing.”

Henderson finished with 62 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, leading the Broncos’ steady rushing attack.

After putting up 78 total points in their first two games, the Broncos offense is starting to click.

“Our goal is to put up 40 points a game,” Thomas said. “Our offense is slowly getting better after each game, so we should be fully clicking by the end of the season.”

The Broncos will continue their MSL crossover games next week when they host Hersey (1-1) on Friday.