By Bobby Narang
Several Nazareth Academy players had one last request following the conclusion of Saturday’s 42-14 victory over Rolling Meadows in a Class 7A State semifinal football playoff game.
Many players, while walking over to meet coach Tim Racki near the far goal post, started chanting “One more!” in reference to one more victory for another State championship. After defeating St. Charles North last season in the 7A State final, the Roadrunners, 13-0, will play powerhouse Mount Carmel, 13-0, Saturday in the State championship battle in DeKalb at Northern Illinois University.
The Caravan, coached by former Northern Illinois star quarterback Jordan Lynch, defeated Willowbrook, 27-6, in a 7A semifinal.
“It’s incredible, never gets old,” Racki said. “It’s been since 2005 (my first year), when it took a lot of work from guys who wore the jerseys before them, to gradually build this (Nazareth program) up to where this (winning) is the standard.”
Nazareth sophomore wide receiver Tyler Morris made a big statement to knock the Warriors, 12-1, from the unbeaten ranks. He caught nine passes for 223 yards, including touchdown grabs of seven, 35, 26, 33, and 61 yards. Junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy passed for 349 yards and five touchdowns.
“It was my teammates’ blocking, J.J. (McCarthy) making the throws,” Morris said. “It was not just all me. It just happened to work out that I was getting the ball.”
On many plays, McCarthy, a five-star recruit on his way to the University of Michigan, scrambled away from defenders, only to find Morris for a touchdown. The Roadrunners scored touchdowns on their first four drives, while their defense limited Rolling Meadows to 43 total yards in the first half en route to tallying three sacks, two interceptions, and recovered a fumble.
“Tyler is the man, always doing this thing, never says a peep,” McCarthy said. “You saw the talent today. It’s out of this world. He’s been there before, we’ve all been there before. Touchdowns, we’ve been scoring a lot of them.”
Racki goes in search of his eighth career State championship next weekend. Racki, a former wide receiver at Southern Illinois University, said the six-foot and 165-pound Morris is not the typical elite athlete.
“He’s so mature beyond his years, but he’s smiling a lot more than he used to, so we got him to smile,” Racki said. “He’s humble, but he wants to be great and is never satisfied and always wants to improve.”
• The final State championship game Saturday will be between two teams each with a 13-0 record, Lincoln-Way East and Warren. Prairie Ridge of Crystal Lake, 12-1, will play East St. Louis, 13-0, in the 6A championship game.