The Montini Catholic football team began its 2026 post-season charge with its 35-12 victory over Geneseo in an IHSA Class 4A first-round playoff game in Lombard on Saturday, Oct. 31.
The Broncos, who had a bye during the post-season’s preliminary round, raised their overall season record to 8-2 with their win over the Maple Leafs of Geneseo, who concluded their season with a 7-4 mark.
Montini is one of 16 teams remaining in the Class 4A playoff field. The Broncos will travel to undefeated Morris (10-0) for a second-round battle on Saturday, Nov. 7. The game will begin at 4 p.m. The winner will advance to the Class 4A quarterfinal round.
Montini closed its regular season with a 28-24 victory over St. Francis on Oct. 16. The Broncos earned a bye in the preliminary post-season round. The 15-day break between games didn’t seem to bother Montini, which scored touchdowns on its first five offensive drives of the first-round contest against Geneseo in a game played in calm and cloudy conditions. The Broncos’ sixth offensive drive of the day ended with a punt with only about three minutes remaining in the game.
“They’re an excellent team,” said Montini coach Mike Bukovsky of the Maple Leafs after the playoff contest in Lombard. “They’re just solid, tough, hard-nosed. Luckily our offense has some athletes, and we were able to move the football and do some things. We did what we had to do this week, and we get to move on.”
Montini received the opening kickoff of the playoff game against Geneseo and marched 80 yards for a touchdown. Senior quarterback Israel Abrams delivered a 7-yard scoring run to produce his team’s first points of the day. Senior Johnny Louise then added the first of his five successful extra-point kicks of the afternoon to give the Broncos a 7-0 lead with about seven minutes left in the first quarter.
Geneseo’s first offensive drive of the game ended with a punt. Montini started its second offensive series of the game at its own 17-yard line late in the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, senior Damacio Ortegon caught a short pass from Abrams and motored down the field for a 34-yard gain that placed the ball at the Maple Leafs’ 16-yard line. Moments later, Abrams completed an 83-yard scoring drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. The extra-point kick from Louise pushed Montini’s lead to 14-0 with about 11 minutes to play in the second quarter.
Geneseo’s offense, which mainly relied on its running game, connected on a 39-yard touchdown pass with less than five minutes left in the first half. The Maple Leafs missed the extra-point kick, leaving the Broncos’ lead at 14-6.
Montini senior Eddie Kowalczyk finished a 65-yard scoring drive with an 8-yard touchdown run with under three minutes to play in the opening half. The extra-point kick moved the Broncos’ lead to 21-6.
Geneseo made a 39-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to trim Montini’s lead to 21-9 at halftime.
The Maple Leafs’ first drive of the third quarter ended when they threw an incomplete pass on a fourth-down play at the Broncos’ 41-yard line. Montini then drove 59 yards for a touchdown, with Abrams extending the football across the goal line on a 1-yard run with 3:44 to play in the third quarter. Moments earlier, Abrams connected with Ortegon on a pass that gained about 30 yards and advanced the ball to Geneseo’s 9-yard line on a third-and-11 play. The extra-point kick after the short touchdown run by Abrams raised the Broncos’ lead to 28-9.
The Maple Leafs made a 40-yard field goal with 10:31 left in the fourth quarter to trim Montini’s lead to 28-12. Geneseo then attempted an onside kick. Senior Jack Spanos of the Broncos recovered the kick at the 50-yard line. Montini’s offense then drove 50 yards for a touchdown, with sophomore Patrick Gabriel scoring on a 1-yard run with 6:31 on the clock. Louise added the extra-point to close out the scoring.
Senior Drew Chrastka of the Broncos intercepted a Geneseo pass with about four minutes left in the game. Shortly after Montini made its first punt of the afternoon, Spanos made an interception with a little more than one minute to play.
Abrams completed 14 of 18 pass attempts for 164 yards. Ortegon made five receptions for 100 yards. Kowalczyk ran for 106 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries. Abrams gained 61 yards and rushed for three touchdowns on 11 carries.
Senior linebacker Orlando Greco recorded 13 tackles for the Broncos in their win over Geneseo. Senior linebacker Ben Evenson provided 12 tackles for Montini. Sophomore linebacker Julian Figueroa contributed 10 tackles.
Montini’s football program is seeking its third consecutive IHSA state championship. The Broncos won the Class 3A title in 2024 and claimed the first-place trophy in the Class 4A level in 2025. Bukovsky stated that the Broncos will have to be in top form to defeat Morris and advance to the Class 4A quarterfinal round.
“Obviously next week’s going to be a big test,” Bukovsky said while referring to the upcoming matchup at Morris. “It’s going to be a great challenge. We’ve got to put everything into it and get ourselves ready to play.”
