Blake, Walker carrying Broncos
QB-RB duo has Montini perfect after another impressive showing
Prince Walker’s 62-yard touchdown run against Fenwick on Saturday at Morton West wasn’t about yardage or points. Montini had the game well in hand, and the yardage did the stunning play no justice.
“It was wild,” Montini quarterback Justin Blake said. “I was running down field after him, and there was just one guy after another on the ground. He had broken all of their tackles.”
The No. 5 Broncos are a complete team, clearly one of the area’s best regardless of class. Blake and Walker are stars, players with that extra something that makes Montini (8-0, 3-0 Catholic League Green) a team that could be holding a state championship trophy in late November.
Comparisons based on scores are inevitable in high school football. The short regular season, in which the top teams almost never face one another, guarantees that. So Montini’s 48-7 victory over Fenwick sort of means something. That’s a more impressive score than Loyola’s 54-16 win in Week 4.
The Catholic League coaches are very good about not running up the score on one another. Once the 40-point running clock kicks in, the winning team pulls off the gas. Even so, the Fenwick result might prove that the Broncos are just as good as the three teams considered to be the area’s elite: Homewood-Flossmoor, Loyola and Glenbard West.
“We aren’t going to worry about that,” Walker said. “We’re just go-- ing to play our own game and try to be the best team we can.”
Walker rushed 10 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 65 yards. The junior has seen his recruitment explode.
“I think I’ve improved a lot on my pass blocking and run blocking this year,” Walker said. “I just visited Iowa last weekend, Indiana a couple weeks back. I’m going to NIU next weekend. That might be it for a while.”
This is Blake’s first season play- ing quarterback. He became an instant star in Week 1 after orchestrating a 20-17 victory over Maine South. Early in the season, Blake was doing most of his damage on the ground. That has changed.
He competed 14 of 22 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns and rushed six times for 78 yards and a touchdown.
“I’ve progressed a lot with my passing,” Blake said. “I’ve always been able to run and always been able to make the easy passes and make the nice reads, but now I’m better at seeing defenses and knowing what they are going to do and pre-read everything. My presnap decisions have been real good the past few weeks. I owe that to the coaches and the film sessions.”
Colleges have noticed Blake’s maturation.
“I have offers from Toledo, Western Michigan, Western Illinois, Illinois State, Eastern Illinois and NIU,” Blake said. “I’ve started getting calls every other day from Wyoming. I’m gonna sit down and see where everyone is coming from after the season. And I’m hoping for a few more offers.”
Fenwick (3-5, 4-2) is a competent team, but it lacks the game-breaking stars Montini features. The Friars marched down the field for a touchdown on their opening drive behind quarterback Jacob Keller, who was 16-for-30 for 171 yards and two interceptions. But the Broncos responded with 48 unanswered points.