By Bobby Narang
High school senior linebacker, Gabe Kaminski, left a lasting legacy at Nazareth Academy.
The Nazareth Roadrunners, coached by Tim Racki, have produced a large number of talented players, including NFL players J.J. McCarthy and Julian Love.
Kaminski, a three-star recruit, put his name among the best to play in school history following an illustrious career filled with personal and team accomplishments and awards.
The Stanford recruit is a three-time state champion, ranked first all-time in Illinois High School Association football history in sacks (42) and second in tackles (405).
Kaminski is perfect epitome of a successful student-athlete for a program that just captured a third consecutive State championship.
Yet, just three-plus years ago, Kaminski entered a stage of his life filled with doubt, concern and uncertainty.
The Roadrunners, who have won six State championship in Racki’s era, had a shortage of players on their roster because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kaminski was a well-known star in football and wrestling, but he even questioned his future at the private school in La Grange Park. He started his career playing tight end and defensive end.
“I have always loved football and it was my main focus even in my freshman year,” Kaminski said. “I didn’t think I would be on the varsity as a freshman. I kept my head down, kept working and kept the faith when I chose Nazareth. It’s all been above my expectations how everything turned out, but I knew that it was within reach because of the rich tradition and players like J.J. McCarthy.”
Kaminski finished this season with 128 tackles, five sacks, four fumble recoveries, and two forced fumbles to spark a defense that allowed just 1,465 passing yards.
Racki, who captured his 10th State championship this season, called Kaminski a rare player who possesses a mix of athleticism, intelligence, a strong work ethic and is unselfish.
“When you have a kid, rare as Gabe, he’s in that one percent,” Racki said. “He’s so internally motivated. He absolutely takes the coaching because he wants to get better. He’s very reception to anyone willing give him coaching. He athleticism for the position he plays is off the charts. He can literally play multiple positions, and he has. He didn’t have his hand on the ground until the middle or late last season.
“He’s very soft spoken and humble and not a kid who says many words. I never once raised my voice to him. He never took a play off. As a coach, it was truly a blessing to have a talent like.”
An iconic 2025 class, led by Kaminski, quarterback Logan Malachuk and James Penley, made a point to return the Roadrunners back to their past glory.
But the Roadrunners won just nine of their next 18 games, including a ghastly 2-4 start in 2022. With Malachuk slinging passes all over the field and Kaminski covering every inch on defense, the Roadrunners closed out the season with seven wins in a row to capture the Class 5A State championship.
In 2023, the Roadrunners topped the previous season’s stunning feat by overcoming a 0-4 start to win the Class 5A championship.
Kaminski, the program’s first four-time all-conference player, headlined the iconic senior class that closed out their careers in a thrilling 29-27 victory over Joliet Catholic in the 5A championship game November 30 to cap a historic three-peat.
Kaminski, an academic and athletic all-stater who earned Chicago Catholic League Green Defensive Player of the Year, said the current seniors took a lot of pride in restoring the luster back to the program. Kaminski said last season’s run to state was his most memorable accomplishment.
“I would say junior year state because we started 1-4 and that was the first time in IHSA history to get into the playoffs and win state with a 4-5 regular season record,” Kaminsky said. “That was really special. I’ll always remember that playoff run.”
Kaminski, who quit wrestling following his sophomore season, played a new role for the Roadrunners this season. As a senior captain, Kaminski wasn’t playing “up” anymore. He had to be a vocal leader.
“I think it really changed my mindset in the leadership perspective,” he said. “In years past, I was a lead-by-example type guy. This year, being a captain, I took a different approach and had to be more vocal and needed to take others under my wing. It was a big shift for this season for me. It was pretty hard. I’m not a vocal guy. I like to keep to myself.
“It was a special season for sure. It’s something that’s not been done in Nazareth history to three-peat. I think the biggest thing for us is leaving the program better than we found it. We really hoped we would achieve that. I think we did.”