By Bobby Narang
Nazareth Academy’s run to a second straight high school football State championship has been filled with some lows, but more highs.
After gaining national traction in the Summer due to an influx of four- and five-star recruits on their roster, the Roadrunners came crashing down to earth with a loss to visiting Cardinal Ritter from St. Louis in their season opener.
But due to Cardinal Ritter’s using an ineligible player, the Roadrunners gained a forfeit victory to keep their record unblemished. At the time, the Roadrunners were getting ready to play undefeated Niles Notre Dame. A few hours after hearing that the Missouri State High School Activities Association announced that Cardinal Ritter had to forfeit all of its games, the Roadrunners defeated the Dons, 21-0.
Nazareth head coach Tim Racki said his team learned from the opening defeat.
“We put an asterisk behind it because we didn’t win the game,” Racki said. “The loss actually made us better because we had such big heads. We were a different team back then. We won’t acknowledge that we won it, because we didn’t.”
Two weeks later, the Roadrunners, the defending Class 7A State champions, opened the second season with a resounding 47-6 victory over visiting Libertyville in a Class 7A first-round playoff game.
The Nazareth defense had three interceptions and three sacks and limited the Wildcats to 72 yards passing. Racki said the defense, unlike the star-filled offense, is filled with players motivated to prove their stature.
“Our defense did a great job on that (series) and pushed them back to near the 50,” Racki said. “Our offense always gets the numbers. But our defense is a faceless and nameless defense in how they play together. We have so many kids that we don’t even have starters because we can rotate them in and they contribute. They take pride in that.”
The Roadrunners, 10-0, will play host to Thornton, 8-2, Saturday at 1 p.m. in LaGrange Park.
• Meanwhile, in Elmhurst, the IC Catholic Knights are seeking to defend their championship. The Knights, a three-time State champion, defeated visiting Chicago Sullivan, 28-0, in a Class 4A first-round playoff game.
Senior IC linebacker Kevin Cooke said the Knights are focused on beating Stillman Valley this week to continue their march to the State championship game in DeKalb at Northern Illinois University November 29.
“The seniors have accomplished quite a lot in our time here,” Cooke said. “We know that our legacy is yet to be finished. Our thoughts are focused on our goal of going 1-0 each week. We know that we want to continue to lead this team and reach our goals as a team.”