LeMire-Dulla combo lifts Barrington

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:30PM

The showdown between leading rushers Shepard Little of Schaumburg and Chase Murdock of Barrington never materialized, but there were still plenty of thrills in the race for first place in the Mid-Suburban West.

Barrington quarterback Matt LeMire completed 9 of 18 passes for a career-high 295 yards and four touchdowns and Zach Dulla (153 yards receiving) caught all three of his passes for touchdowns as the No. 13 Broncos held off the No. 17 Saxons 34-32 Saturday.

"It seems unreal. I couldn't believe it if it was like a dream," Dulla said. "To score three touchdowns on homecoming. It's incredible."

The game was decided with 46 seconds left when Little was stopped short on a possible game-tying, two-point conversion run by linebacker Peter Cobb. Cobb then recovered the onside kick to clinch a playoff berth for Barrington (6-0, 2-0), its seventh postseason trip in nine years.

"The bottom line is that 32 points should be enough to win the game," Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling said. "The defense didn't it get done."

The failed two-point run was set up by Brandon Kibby's three-yard touchdown run, which ended an 88-yard drive for Schaumburg (4-2, 1-1). Little had only 27 yards in the first half, but finished with 177 yards on 23 carries and scored four TDs on runs of 8, 1, 53 and 6 yards. Little matched his four-TD game against Rolling Meadows in Week 3.

Little and Murdock entered the game witih a combined 1,731 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns. Murdock, a junior, was held out with a foot injury suffered in last week's 38-21 win over Conant. His streak of five games this season with a touchdown ended. He has 740 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns this season.

"We showed the mettle of our team even though we lost a big cog," Barrington coach Joe Sanchez said. "Our team still has a lot of weapons."

The game was tied 7-7 at halftime with Little scoring his first touchdown in the first quarter and Dulla catching his first TD in the second quarter.

LeMire's threw TD passes of 35 and 70 yards to Dulla in the third quarter, the second one putting the Broncos ahead 19-14 with 6:03 to go.

"Zach has the most reliable hands I've ever seen," LeMire said. "He makes plays too. I didn't know what to expect (entering the game)."

Schaumburg pulled to within 20-19 on Little's third TD run. Both teams combined for four TDs each in the third and fourth quarters. Little's final TD run pulled Schaumburg to within 27-26 with 4:27 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Adam Sylvertsen's point-after attempt went wide left.

On the next play from scrimmage, backup running back Nico Martinez (12 carries, 79 yards) scored on a 43-yard TD run. Joe Micci's extra point put the Broncos ahead 34-26.

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