Broncos Varsity Football head coach Joe Sanchez and the rest of the team visited John Davis Stadium for their week three matchup against the Glenbrook South Titans on Sept. 8th After the game the Broncos would walk away with their third win of the season. This win was more than just another in the column for the Broncos as it would officially make Coach Sanchez the all time winningest coach in MSL history.
The journey to the 154th win record mark would start at his high school in Wheeling where Sanchez would meet his biggest influence.
“My head varsity coach at the time was Rick Benedetto who was probably the greatest influence on me. I saw what he and the other coaches on the team did and I always thought to myself that that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to be in a position where I can build relationships and have an influence,” Sanchez said.
His playing career would not end there as he attended North Central College and played throughout college. Yet Sanchez’s high school coaching career actually started because of a rejection.
“After I was done and I graduated, I actually wanted to coach in college and teach. Or at least help out in North Central and I’ll never forget, I met with my for our exit interviews. I asked him if I could coach at the college-level and he said, no. Nobody had ever really said no to me before in that regard and so initially, to be honest with you, I was a little disappointed. But when he told me the reason was because he believed that I would have a greater influence, teaching and coaching in high school than I would in college,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez would get that opportunity that spring. He would run into his coach at Portillos, where his coach had some important news to share.
“…I ran into him having lunch or dinner with somebody and he motioned me over and he said, ‘You know, I just got off the phone with the head football coach at Barrington High School and he said there is a teaching position and coaching opening maybe.’ He goes, ‘you’re going to call him, you’re going to interview with him. Who knows this could lead to a job.’ And you know, lo and behold 20 years later, I think it worked out,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez now has 17 winning seasons, 16 playoff trips (soon to be 18 winning seasons and 17 playoff trips) and six outright or shared MSL West titles, all with the Broncos.
Going into this season Coach Sanchez had 151 wins under his belt, just 3 wins from breaking the record. Yet the record wasn’t on his mind.
“To be quite honest, I didn’t even know at the game. I didn’t even know what was happening when we won. I was so focused on just winning like any other season, just focusing on one game at a time,” Sanchez said.
After winning that game 27-19 against the Titans, coach Sanchez was surrounded by his players and coaches as they celebrated him breaking the record. Sanchez will now go down in MSL and BHS history forever.
“Obviously, it means a lot. I mean, I continue to say it’s humbling because you don’t really start anything with the intent of something like that. So it’s hard to even put into words what it means. It’s surreal, to be honest with you. For anything like that to happen for me to even ponder that because I don’t think or look at anything differently you know,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez and the Broncos look to finish the 2023 season strong with a playoff run after going 9-0 in The regular season.
“I’m just trying to do what I think is my part for the program, for the kids on the team, and for the coaches on the team…” Sanchez said,“I just feel like, you know, I’ve been really blessed to be in a position where we’ve got a great community, we’ve had great players. We’ve had great coaches. We’ve had great support, and I just happen to be at the right place at the right time.”
