The Montini Catholic football team’s quest for a third straight IHSA state championship ended with Saturday’s (Nov. 7) 41-7 loss at Morris in a Class 4A second-round game.
The Broncos, who won the Class 3A state title in 2024 and captured the Class 4A state championship in 2025, finished their 2026 season with an 8-3 record. The Warriors of Morris improved to 11-0 and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Class 4A playoffs. Morris will play a home game against Sterling (9-2) in this week’s quarterfinal matchup.
“We didn’t fall short because of lack of effort,” said Montini coach Mike Bukovsky after the season-ending loss. “We lost to a really good football team. They [the Warriors] were better than us tonight.”
Morris led Montini 14-7 at halftime, but the Broncos had some momentum at the end of the first half after making a defensive stop near the goal line on the final play of the half. Morris seized the momentum after dominating the third quarter. The Warriors scored a touchdown on their first offensive drive of the second half. Montini’s subsequent offensive series ended with senior quarterback Israel Abrams dropping back to pass and absorbing a jarring hit from a Morris defender. Abrams fumbled the ball on the play, and the Warriors made the recovery at Montini’s 40-yard line. Abrams was injured on the play, and spent several minutes on the turf before being helped off the field. The standout quarterback, who led the Broncos to two straight state titles, and will continue his football career as a member of the University of Miami Hurricanes, did not return for the remainder of the game.
Montini’s offense moved the ball down the field on the opening drive of Saturday’s post-season matchup, which took place in cool and calm weather. The Broncos were unable to produce any points on that drive, which ended with an incomplete pass on a fourth-down play at the Warriors’ 8-yard line.
The Morris offense then took the field for its first drive of the day and marched 92 yards for a touchdown. The Warriors scored on a 1-yard run and added the extra-point kick to take a 7-0 lead with 2:48 left in the first quarter.
Montini responded with a 70-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 1-yard scoring run by Abrams early in the second quarter. Abrams rushed for a 16-yard gain to advance the ball to the Warriors’ 1-yard line. He scored the touchdown on the next play, reaching the ball across the goal line while being surrounded by Morris defenders. Senior Johnny Louise of the Broncos made the extra-point kick to even the score at 7-7 with 11:08 remaining in the second quarter.
Morris took the lead after making a defensive stop and forcing the Broncos to punt from near their own goal line. The Warriors’ punt returner caught the Montini punt and made an excellent return, breaking tackles near the goal line in his 35-yard return for a touchdown. The successful extra-point kick pushed the Morris lead to 14-7 with 8:16 to play in the second quarter.
The Warriors had a golden opportunity to add to their lead before halftime. Their offense had a first-and-goal at the Broncos’ 5-yard line with about 45 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Morris didn’t play with much urgency as the clock wound down. The Warriors called their last timeout of the first half with six seconds to play. Instead of attempting a short field-goal kick, or throwing a pass into the end zone, the Warriors tried a running play on the final play of the half. Montini’s defense made the stop to keep the Morris lead at 14-7.
If the Broncos had any momentum going into the second half, it quickly evaporated after Morris delivered a scoring drive on the opening series of the second half and boosted its lead to 21-7 with 9:28 left in the third quarter. A Morris defender blind-sided Abrams moments later, causing a fumble and knocking Abrams out of the game. Bukovsky said after the game that Abrams had been dealing with a rib injury in recent weeks. In addition to exacerbating that injury, the hard hit from the Warrior defender led to Abrams twisting his ankle on the play.
Morris did not score after recovering the fumble by Abrams. Montini freshman quarterback Charlie Bliss then took the field and soon completed a short pass that turned into a big gain. That play, however, was negated by a Montini penalty. Moments later, the Broncos were energized when it appeared they had recovered a Morris fumble on a punt return. After holding a conference, however, the officials ruled that Morris had not fumbled on the play.
The Warriors added to their lead on a 19-yard touchdown run with 8:13 remaining in the game. Montini blocked the ensuing extra-point kick, leaving the Morris lead at 27-7.
The Warriors and their fans exploded with delight on their team’s next touchdown. Montini’s offense drove the ball inside the Warriors’ 5-yard line, but a Morris defender intercepted a pass by Bliss and made a 96-yard return down the sideline and into the end zone. The extra-point kick extended the Warriors’ lead to 34-7 with 4:29 to play.
Morris added its last touchdown of the day shortly after recovering a Montini fumble. The Warriors scored on a 19-yard touchdown run and added the extra-point kick to boost their lead to 41-7 with 2:54 left in the game.
“Those guys [the Warriors] deserved to win today, and we didn’t; we didn’t bring our A-game,” stated Bukovsky after the loss in Morris, which snapped the Montini program’s post-game winning streak at 11 games. The Broncos won five playoff games each in their championship runs of 2024 and 2025. The streak moved to 11 games when Montini opened 2026 post-season action with a 35-12 home win over Geneseo on Oct. 31. Before Saturday’s setback in Morris, the Broncos’ previous post-season defeat was a 26-20 loss to Byron in Lombard in an IHSA Class 3A semifinal battle on Nov. 18, 2023.
Montini’s last two seasons ended with trophy presentations and raucous celebrations at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium in Normal. The Broncos’ 2026 season ended in somber and emotional fashion, with the team’s seniors lining up on the 10-yard line on the south end of the Morris field. Montini’s coaches and underclass players then walked along that line, sharing hugs and individual exchanges with the seniors.
“These guys were an amazing group; just super young men,” said Bukovsky of the team’s seniors, who helped the program to its 2024 and 2025 state championships. “We’re going to miss them. When it all ends, it’s not easy. You’ve got to realize how special it is when you do win, because it’s not as easy as everyone thinks.”
