Midway through the first quarter of Saturday’s Class 4A semifinal, the Montini football team found itself in a position it hasn’t been in very often this year.

The Broncos were trailing.

That didn’t last long, as junior Luca Florio returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown to give them the lead for good against Morris en route to a 47-27 win that propelled the Broncos to next week’s Class 4A state championship game.

Montini (13-0) received the opening kickoff and drove 86 yards on eight plays, culminating with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Israel Abrams to Damacio Ortegon. Key in the drive was a 68-yard catch-and-run from Abrams to Isaac Alexander.

Morris (11-2) answered with a touchdown drive of its own, going 66 yards on eight plays and scoring on a 12-yard pass from Brady Varner to Logan Conroy. Grant Sparrow’s kick was good, giving Morris a 7-6 lead with 6:29 to play in the first quarter.

Enter Florio.

The 5-11, 180-pounder fielded the kickoff at his own 7-yard line. He sped through an open lane in the middle of the field before veering toward the left sideline. He broke a tackle near midfield and ran the rest of the way into the end zone. Johnny Louise’s kick was good, and it gave the Broncos the lead with 6:16 to play in the period.

“We work on kick returns a lot as a team,” Florio said. “Returning one for a touchdown is something I have been wanting to do all year.”

On the first play of the second quarter, Florio beat his defender on a deep route and Abrams (15 of 22, 280 yards, 3 TDs) hit him for a 53-yard touchdown for a 20-7 Bronco lead.

“It’s great having a quarterback like Izzy,” Florio said. “He’s the real deal. I know that if I run a good route and get open, he’ll find me, and he did on that play.”

Morris got a big kick return by Anthony Smith, and a personal foul penalty after the play set Morris up at the Montini 21. Caeden Curran scored on a 3-yard run to pull his team to within 20-14.

On the ensuing drive, Abrams went 4 of 4 for 52 yards on a 70-yard drive. Three of the completions were to Nico Castaldo, including a 7-yarder for a touchdown and a 27-14 lead.

Louise ended the following Morris drive with an interception at midfield, returning it to the 27. After Abrams hit Ortegon (5 catches, 81 yards) for a 26-yard gain, he ran it in from a yard out for a 33-14 lead after the extra-point kick was blocked.

The Broncos’ defense stopped Morris inches short on a fourth down play and took over at their own 26.

Morris’ Bryce Lee sacked Abrams to put Montini in a third-and-15 situation, but Abrams hit Florio (3 catches, 77 yards) for a 24-yard gain. On third-and-10, Abrams hit Ortegon for a gain of 26 yards. Once again on third-and-10, Abrams and Ortegon hooked up, this time for a 15-yard gain. On the next play, Abrams hit Castaldo (5 catches, 64 yards) for a 14-yard TD and a 40-14 lead, which they took into halftime.

“One of our unsung heroes all year has been Luca Florio,” Montini coach Mike Bukovsky said. “It seems like he is always making a big play for us, and he’s a real X-factor. I was happy to see him get that kick return. On the first kick of the game, he misjudged it and it went over his head. The lanes were open, but he had to retreat to get the ball. On the second one, he get behind it and caught it and the lanes opened up again.

“Johnny Louise always steps up for us, and [linebacker] Santino [Tenuta] is our heart and soul. He’s a physical presence and he’s one of the toughest kids I have ever coached.”

Morris received the second half kickoff and drive 72 yards on 11 plays. On the 11th play, Varner was under pressure and scrambling. He was tripped, but just before hitting the ground, he flipped the ball underhanded to teammate RJ Kennedy in the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown to make it 40-21.

Varner threw for 182 yards and two TDs and ran for 68 yards and a touchdown, while Curran finished with 97 rushing yards.

Morris recovered the ensuing onside kick, but turned the ball over on downs. Morris forced Montini’s first punt of the game on the next drive and was able to drive to the Montini 20. But the Broncos’ Tenuta and Namari Anderson chased down Varner before he could get first down yardage on fourth down.

Montini took a 47-21 lead on a 2-yard run by Alexander (8 carries, 41 yards) with 5:07 to play. Varner capped the scoring with a 24-yard touchdown run, but it was too little, too late for Morris.

“We did a lot of good things, especially in the first half,” Bukovsky said. “We got a couple of big plays from Luca, and we scored on all of our possessions.

“Hats off to Morris. We knew this was going to be a physical game, and they were every bit as physical as we thought they would be.”

Morris coach Alan Thorson was proud of the way his team put forth its best effort until the final whistle.

“Anything you needed to know about this team was summed up in the second half of this game,” he said. “They were down, but they continued to show heart and fight. This is a special group. It stings bad right now, but if you look over the last four years, these seniors have been a part of three semifinal teams and a quarterfinal team. They have played a lot of football and made the town proud.

“The kickoff return they got was a real momentum killer. We answered their first touchdown with one of our own and took the lead, but then they made a good play and got that momentum right back.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/friday-night-drive/2025/11/23/big-plays-by-luca-florio-lead-montini-past-morris-in-class-4a-semifinal/