Nazareth senior Justin Taylor scored two touchdowns to help the Roadrunners advance to the IHSA Class 5A semifinals with a 29-0 win over Morgan Park. Photo by Steve Metsch
Nazareth blanks Morgan Park, advances to Class 5A semifinals
By Steve Metsch
Correspondent
Justin Taylor has not forgotten the sting he felt watching Fenwick celebrate its IHSA Class 5A quarterfinal victory on Nazareth’s home field roughly one year ago.
Taylor repeatedly reminded his teammates of that scene during practice last week as the Roadrunners prepared for this season’s quarterfinal matchup against Morgan Park.
“That was the juice to get us going in this game,” Taylor said after Nazareth defeated the Mustangs, 29-0, on Nov. 12 to advance to the Class 5A semifinals.
Taylor and sophomore running back Alexander Angulo each scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and the Roadrunners offense outgained that of the Mustangs, 213 yards to 115, as Nazareth (8-4) won for the seventh time in eight games. The Roadrunners will play at Sycamore this week with a trip to the state title game on the line.
This marks their sixth semifinal appearance since 2014, all under coach Tim Racki. They won the previous five.
Morgan Park entered the game 10-1, while Nazareth squeaked into the postseason by finishing 5-4. But the Roadrunners have continually improved as the season progressed, and they have been rolling since a 1-3 start to the season.
“We really don’t look at the record,” Taylor said. “Our mindset is to play the best football that we’ve been playing.”
Freshman defensive lineman Lesroy Tittle hammered Mustangs quarterback Marcus Thaxton to force a fumble on the fourth play of the game, and it was all Nazareth thereafter. It did, however taker them a while to get going.
Late in the first quarter, a botched snap on a Morgan Park punt resulted in safety and a 2-0 Roadrunners’ lead lead with 1:23 left in the first quarter
Fewer than 90 seconds later, Taylor bulled into the end zone for his first touchdown and a 9-0 Nazareth lead.
“Once we got comfortable, we started building on that and kept going,” said Taylor, who gained 54 yards on 11 carries.
Angulo scored on a 6-yard run for a 15-0 halftime lead.
Nazareth all but put the game on ice with a 10-play drive to start the second half. This time, Taylor finished it by scoring from six yards out.
Angulo’s second touchdown, from 7 yards, made it 29-0 with 7:04 remaining in the game. Angulo gained 88 yards on 21 carries.
Sophomore wide receiver James Penley had two catches for 32 yards.
Racki said a tough schedule improved his young team each week.
“It was about Week 7 when you saw the maturity,” he said. “It was like raising a kid. You see them grow up into men. I took the training wheels off, so I’m a proud dad.”
Nazareth’s defense held the Mustangs to 96 yards passing and 19 rushing.
“Our defensive coordinator, Keith Lukes, came up with a tremendous game plan,” Racki said. “I did not think we’d shut them out, so a tip of the cap to Keith.”
Like Taylor, sophomore defensive lineman Gabe Kaminski wanted no encore of last year’s heartbreaker.
“I was on the field here, seeing all the seniors cry,” said Kaminski, who had one sack. “We didn’t want that happening again.”
The game against Sycamore will be fun, Racki said.
“They’ve been coming here for 7-on-7s every summer for years,” he added. (Sycamore coach) Joe Ryan and I are friends. It will be nice seeing him again.
“We were joking in June. I said, ‘I hope you come back here.’ He said, ‘No, it’s your turn to come to my place.'”
Local News
‘Impressive and beautiful’ eclipse wows Argo students
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Argo High School freshman Nicholas Kokarczyk was feeling pretty good after his solar eclipse debut. “I’ve never seen one personally. It looks like a big frowny face now,” Kokarczyk said around 2:15 p.m. Monday. “It’s better than I expected.” Kokarczyk, 14, of Justice, was joined by roughly 1,900 of his…
Bridgeview condemns wars around globe in new resolution
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch As village officials noted, warring factions in the Middle East and elsewhere probably don’t care much about what happens at the Bridgeview Village Hall. But the village board still took a strong stance against war at its latest meeting. At their April 3 meeting, trustees unanimously approved a resolution that…
Cardinal Cupich celebrates Mass on ‘a special day’ at St. Cletus
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch After waiting patiently in line, Indian Head Park resident Tim Kyzivat enjoyed a rare chance to visit with Cardinal Blase J. Cupich. Kyzivat, 77, was among several hundred people who attended the 11 a.m. Mass said by the Archbishop of Chicago at St. Cletus Roman Catholic Church in La Grange…
Boys Volleyball | Sandburg runs win streak to three with wins over Hinsdale South, DG North
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent After a sub-.500 start to the season, Sandburg returned from spring break with two victories, defeating Hinsdale South in three sets on April 3 and needing two sets to take down Downers Grove North the following day. The Eagles (6-4) ran their win streak to three games by topping…
Boys Volleyball | Marist still unbeaten after downing Glenbrook South
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Marist is on a roll thus far this season, and improved to 9-0 after topping Glenbrook South in two sets last week. The RedHawks defeated the previously unbeaten Titans, 25-11, 25-21, on April 4 in Mount Greenwood, giving them eight straight matches that have gone two sets. Marist’s only…
Chicago Fire II to host Indy Eleven in U.S. Open Cup
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Fire II continue winning in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. They will be rewarded by hosting a third-round game against Indy Eleven at 7 p.m. April 17 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. Entry to Fire II games are usually free; but tickets for the Cup match…
Red Stars to play in Summer Cup
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent When the NWSL season started, there was a gap in the schedule — created to accommodate international play — that left the Chicago Red Stars without a league game for most of July. But some extra games have been added, as the NWSL and Liga MX are participating in…
College Sports | Sidney Lovitsch is officially women’s hoops coach at SXU
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Sidney Lovitsch was named interim women’s basketball coach at Saint Xavier shortly before the 2023-24 season opened and got a trial year to work with. The trial was successful, as the school announced the interim tag has been dropped and Lovitsch is officially the Cougars’ head coach. SXU finished…
Area natives Kendall Coyne Schofield, Abbey Murphy representing at Women’s World Championship
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Local hockey legends Kendall Coyne Schofield and Abbey Murphy are back with the U.S. women’s hockey team at the 2024 Women’s World Championship. Schofield, a Palos Heights native and Sandburg graduate, is playing in the Worlds for the 10th time. Murphy, an Evergreen Park native and Mother McAuley graduate,…
Neighbors
Capitol Briefs: Senate advances elections bill, measure targeting ‘predatory’ lending
By PETER HANCOCK & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would put more controls on certain kinds of high-cost loans to small businesses cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday. Senate Bill 2234, known as the Small Business Financial Transparency Act, targets a relatively new kind of nontraditional lender in the credit…
Law enforcement community honors fallen officers at Illinois Capitol
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Six fallen police officers were honored at an annual memorial service outside the State Capitol Thursday. The Illinois Police Officers Memorial occurs annually on the first Thursday of May to honor officers who died in the line of duty and to support their families. “No one…
Democrats muscle through changes to ballot access, advisory questions
By JERRY NOWICKI HANNAH MEISEL & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House moved quickly Wednesday to push through a change to state election laws that partially limits ballot access and adds three nonbinding referendums to the 2024 general election ballot. It’s a move that caused minority party…
After 3 years, state poised to enforce law aiming to end lending discrimination
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that sought to wipe away the last vestiges of racial discrimination and redlining in America’s home mortgage industry. The idea was simple. By requiring lenders – primarily banks – to make…
Capitol News Illinois partners with ‘Illinois Lawmakers’ program to bring it back to air
Capitol News Illinois announced today it will produce the long-running “Illinois Lawmakers” program this spring, in partnership with longtime host and producer Jak Tichenor. “This new partnership is absolutely critical to providing Illinois residents with reliable, independent, in-depth, up to date coverage from the Illinois Capitol after many newspapers and broadcasters shuttered their Statehouse bureaus over…
Election officials to weigh whether Darren Bailey and GOP operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated
By ANDREW ADAMS & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A year and a half after Republican Darren Bailey lost his campaign to challenge Gov. JB Pritzker, state election officials are weighing whether he illegally colluded with conservative radio show host and political operative Dan Proft in the 2022 campaign. The State Board…
Immigrant advocates tout new report showing benefits of state-funded health plans
By PETER HANCOCK and JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Immigrant rights advocates on Friday continued to push for one of their top budget priorities: full funding for state-run health care programs that benefit noncitizens, regardless of their immigration status. Those programs offer health coverage for low-income individuals who would otherwise qualify for…
As state continues to inventory lead pipes, full replacement deadlines are decades away
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com Lead pipes in public water systems and drinking fixtures have been banned in new construction since 1986, when Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, but they are still in use across the U.S. and in Illinois. The presence of lead pipes has persisted due in part to…
Capitol Briefs: State unveils report on racial disparities among homeless populations
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Tackling homelessness requires addressing racial injustice, according to a new report commissioned by the state’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness. The report found that Black people are eight times more likely to experience homelessness than white people. Remedying this disparity, according to the report, would require “long-term…
Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?
by Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project April 16, 2024 This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. The electricity in Mary Buchanan’s home in West Garfield Park was not working – again. The outage lasted four days, starting just after a crew dug up her front lawn to install a check valve in…