Logo-St. Rita

Nazareth’s ground game dominates vs. St. Rita

Quarterback Logan Malachuk and the other skill players at Nazareth draw most of the attention and deservedly so. 

After all, the Roadrunners have piled up 206 points through the first six games of the season, a 34.3 average.

But after Nazareth’s 45-21 CCL/ESCC Green victory at St. Rita in Week 6, it was the five guys in front of Malachuk and company who drew coach Tim Racki’s highest praise.

For the record, the offensive line for the Roadrunners consists of center Max Deering, guards Tomek Wszelaki and Nate Sefcik and tackles Sam Stec and Christian Malachuk, Logan’s brother.

“St. Rita’s defense is good,” Racki said. “But our O-line – and in fact our running game – was so dominant and that made me so proud. St. Rita’s defense is so stout and the way we ran the ball was impressive.

“It was impressive how our O-line blocked against that defense and all our running backs ran hard (Friday) night. They block so well together and our run game opens up the passing game. This is absolutely the best our run game has played this season. I didn’t see this score coming.”

A 28-point surge in the third quarter sealed the victory for Nazareth (5-1, 2-0). Leading 17-14 at halftime, the Roadrunners had touchdowns from Jake Cestone (72-yard pass from Logan Malachuk), Charles Calhoun (9-yard run), Trenton Walker (50-yard pass from Malachuk) and Dylan Wellner (47-yard interception return) to widen their advantage to 45-14.

“At the break, we did feel like we had the momentum,” Racki said. “And our kids pounced on it. The pick-six by Wellner was unbelievable. That was the proverbial nail (in the coffin) in the end.”

The Mustangs (4-2, 1-1) started the scoring on a 54-yard pass from Steven Armbruster to Walter Jones. Nazareth responded as a 21-yard TD pass from Logan Malachuk to Walker tied the game at 7-all.

Armbruster was 10 of 16 for 174 yards and Jones caught five passes for 128 yards.

Logan Malachuk completed 14 of 19 passes for 253 yards.

“Logan’s been doing that for four years,” Racki said. “Sometimes, you take it for granted that he’s so good. He has the comprehension of the offense and good decision-making, but the biggest thing is his poise.

“He gets on himself for making an error, but then he lets it go. That’s rare to see in a high school kid.”

A 10-yard scoring pass from Armbruster to Tommy Perry gave St. Rita a 14-7 lead. But the Roadrunners went back in front on a 1-yard run by Lesroy Tittle and a 20-yard field goal from Billy Harding. 

Brandon Johnson Jr. (10 carries, 41 yards) scored on a 5-yard run to close the scoring for St. Rita. The Mustangs had 15 tackles from James Kingsbury and 11 from Owen Lynch.

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