Glenbrook South marches 77 yards to beat Barrington

BARRINGTON — Trailing 14-7 late in the fourth quarter, visiting Glenbrook South needed to find some offensive magic Friday night against Barrington in nonconference action.

And the Titans did exactly that as they put together a 77-yard scoring drive along with a 2-point conversion with 4:58 to play to capture an exciting 15-14 victory over the penalty-plagued Broncos. Will Collins scored on a 1-yard run to put the Titans ahead.

[ Photos: Barrington vs. Glenbrook South ]

After a scoreless deadlock in a defensive struggle after one quarter, both Barrington (2-2) and Glenbrook South (4-0) were able to get on the scoreboard late in the second quarter.

A 15-yard penalty put the Broncos in a first-and-26 situation from their own 23-yard-line. But on the next play, Barrington quarterback Harley Thompson (11 for 18, 282 yards passing) hit teammate Jack Serrano in stride breaking over the middle of the field for a 77-yard touchdown strike and a 6-0 lead with 5:42 left in the first half as the extra point failed.

But on the ensuing kickoff, the Titans responded quickly as Collins broke a tackle near midfield before racing 85 yards for the touchdown just 14 seconds later.

The extra point by Franco Fernandez-Enjo gave Glenbrook South a slim 7-6 lead, which it took into the halftime break.

The Broncos’ long-play offense struck again when Thompson hit teammate Connor Lee streaking down the middle of the field for a 72-yard TD strike before Thompson’s two-point conversion run put Barrington ahead 14-7 just 57 seconds into the third quarter.

A partially blocked 26-yard field goal attempt by Fernandez-Enjo prevented Glenbrook South from cutting the gap to 14-10 midway through the third quarter.

“Congrats to them. It was a hard-fought game between two 8A playoff-type teams and hopefully we’ll learn from it,” said Barrington coach Joe Sanchez, whose team had over 100 yards in penalties. “A lot of what we did was self-inflicted, and we had a chance to get the go-ahead score.”

Barrington was marching down the field at the Titans’ 30-yard-line, but a penalty and a huge interception by Glenbrook South’s Andre Namroud with 3:10 to play were huge factors in the final outcome.

“To get two wins this season against the MSL was terrific,” said Glenbrook South coach David Schoenwetter. “I think our defense has gotten better each week, and that is a trend we’ve been seeing.”

Collins ran for 92 yards on 19 carries while teammate Matt Burda had 82 yards on 16 rushes. An interception by Tommy MacPherson sealed the Broncos’ fate with about a minute to play.

Barrington’s Evan Panesis had 43 yards on 13 carries while Thompson ran for 39 yards.

“It feels amazing, I think everyone battled their hearts out so I’m happy to be on this team,” Collins said. “It’s been a long time since a Glenbrook South team was 4-0.”