Quick, fast, speedy. All apt descriptions by teammates and coaches alike regarding Barrington’s Alec Andrea, who reminds one of the Road Runner cartoon from Looney Tunes.
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Andrea puts his swift talents on display all over the football field. The junior is a starting cornerback, wide receiver and kick and punt returner.
“He’s got blistering speed,” Broncos senior safety Drew Douglas said. “He can run down anybody.”
Andrea’s best highlight of the season came Friday, Sept. 23, against Fremd. He picked off a pass in the end zone late in the fourth quarter and raced down the sideline 102 yards to clinch a 27-12 victory.
“I turned my head and saw Alec pick it off, and he just took off and ran it all the way back,” senior safety Victor Katis said. “It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Coach (Joe) Sanchez said if I got caught by the quarterback, I wouldn’t stop hearing it from everyone,” Andrea recalled.
There was little chance of that happening. Andrea will return to the track team for his second season and run the 100 and 200 meters, along with the 4-by-100 relay.
Andrea also displayed his talents on offense in Barrington’s 49-20 homecoming victory against Schaumburg on Saturday, Oct. 1. He caught three passes for 78 yards in just one half of work. On one of his receptions, he caught a quick 7-yard out and spun, then motored past the defenders for another 17 yards.
It was certainly a team effort for the undefeated Broncos (6-0, 2-0 Mid-Suburban West), as Barrington built a 28-0 lead against Schaumburg (4-2, 1-1) after one quarter and 49-7 at halftime, leading to a running clock in the final two quarters.
“Credit to the defense for setting the tone early with a three-and-out,” Sanchez said. “Our offense was able to pick up right off of it.”
Junior quarterback Ray Niro was 10-for-14 for 210 yards and a 32-yard touchdown pass to senior Josh Babicz. Niro also rushed for three scores while senior Logan Moews added a pair of 3-yard scoring runs. Michael Curran also found the end zone.
Sanchez said Andrea is also dangerous on kickoffs and punts. He had a punt return for a touchdown called back against Evanston in Week 4.
“Alec is dynamic,” Sanchez said. “Every time he touches the ball, you kind of hold your breath. You know he’s going to do something exciting with it.”
So what side of the ball does he prefer?
“When I got brought up last year to start on defense, it’s once defense, always defense first,” Andrea said. “If I get beat, I can rely on my speed to catch up and make a play.”
Mark Perlman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @markdavidperlma