Senior running back Mike Barberi didn’t need to be reminded about last season when Andrew lost by a shutout to Sandburg.
He woke up Friday morning believing it wasn’t going to happen again.
“After last year, zero points on the board,” he said. “I’m like, ‘That can’t happen again.”
It didn’t. And Barberi made sure of it.
He ran 25 times for 255 yards and three touchdowns, including the first TD less than three minutes into the game as the Thunderbolts topped Sandburg 42-27 in Orland Park.
Senior running back Nick Smith also added 81 yards on five carries and two TDs for Andrew (2-1) before he was injured with 9:33 remaining in the first half.
That allowed Barberi to continue to run wild against Sandburg (0-3). He finished with electrifying TD runs of 68, 36 and 28 yards. He had a 42-yard run as well.
“The game plan was to run down their throat and run down their throat with the triple-option,” Barberi said. “After Nick got hurt, we still stuck to the plan.”
“Mike is an excellent young man who works his tail off,” Andrew coach Adam Lewandowski said. “I feel like he understands the game really well and he’s taking everything he can get.
“He’s a great running back.”
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Sandburg had dominated the District 230 rivalry, winning 11 of the first 12 games in a series which went from 2004 through 2014 and then returned in 2021.
Andrew’s previous victory in the series was in 2007 with a 31-3 win — the biggest blowout by any team in the 13 meetings.
Junior safety Jack LoConte’s two interceptions in the first half, however, helped the Thunderbolts take a 28-7 halftime lead.
“We played a lot of man defense, and it was a matter of perfect timing,” LoConte said. “The whole team was all-around good on defense. The energy was really high, and we have a lot of guys who want to play well.”
Sophomore Anthony Shelton made his starting debut at quarterback for Sandburg after coming in during Week 2 for injured starter Christian Evans.
Evans hurt himself early in the second half of a 15-14 loss to Glenbrook South.
“I was hoping he would come back,” Shelton said. “This is his team.”
But Sandburg coach Troy McAllister confirmed Evans would be out the rest of the season.
Despite throwing an interception on his first throw of the game, Shelton completed 12 of 24 passes for 218 yards and four TDs. He found fellow sophomore Charlie Snorek open for scoring passes of 10, 13 and 55 yards in the second half.
Senior running back Katrell Thompson chipped in with 129 yards on 22 carries.
“It’s tough to lose someone like Christian, who is a returning starter and captain,” McAllister said. “But obviously you had Anthony Shelton step in, and it was impressive to see a young sophomore play the way he did.”
On the other side, Lewandowski lauded an offensive line featuring Michael McDonough, Daniel Cushing, Tommy Barrett, Jack Sternes and Joe Zimmer.
They helped Andrew rack up 402 yards rushing.
The Thunderbolts opened the season with a 52-8 loss at Kaneland followed by a wild 33-28 victory over Oswego, scoring twice in the final 34 seconds.
Now, a rare victory over Sandburg.
“It was a long bus ride home,” LoConte said of the Kaneland loss. “We were not down — we were telling ourselves it’s over. Short memory. Get them next week.”
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“Our heads weren’t in the Kaneland game,” Barberi said. “It was the first game of the season, and it was tough. But the Oswego game and this game, we stepped it up.
“That’s the team we are.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.