Call it a process. Call it using building blocks. Call it taking things step-by-step.

All three terms are accurate when describing how veteran Nazareth coach Tim Racki evaluates his team’s progress.

After a 33-6 win over visiting Morgan Park on Sept. 5, Racki was well pleased with how his back-to-back state champions are performing.

“I told the players (Saturday) morning that our improvement from week one to week two was beyond my expectations,” Racki said. “I’ve been doing this for a while, so you always want to see incremental improvements because you don’t know what you have in week one.

“You’re only scrimmaging (before that), you’re not going to the ground and it’s not real game-like football. It’s hard to simulate that. But from how we performed last Friday to this Friday, I thought the improvement really exceeded my expectations. I was really happy with our execution.”

One of the key performers for Nazareth was Billy Harding, who kicked field goals of 20 and 27 yards.

Next for the Roadrunners will be a matchup with fellow three-time defending state champ Mount Carmel.

“I told the players that I’d rather be playing Mount Carmel than a school where you know we put a (running) clock on them,” Racki said. “Because when you have so many games where you’re so much better than your opponent, you don’t really get a gauge of how good you are or how good you can be.

“I think it’s an incredible opportunity because it’s not a state championship game and it’s not a playoff-defining game. It’s really a game that’s going to make us better regardless of the outcome because playing against competition at that high of a level is only going to make us better.”

Andrew 44, Plainfield South 29: Landon Paredes scored two rushing touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown for Andrew (1-1) in Tinley Park. Camden Maniatis (rushing TD, passing TD), Jalon Lawrence (rushing TD) and Tommy Reilly (rushing TD) also scored for the T-Bolts.

Bloom 12, Argo 7: Chance Sanders threw a 30-yard TD pass to Qassim Al Jabri for visiting Argo (0-2). Sanders threw for 70 yards and Al Jabri finished with 77 total yards

Evergreen Park 42, Longwood 6: Omarrion Evans (80-yard kickoff return for a TD), Ilas Mendez (two interceptions), Cory Isaac (two rushing TDs) and Gavin Wheeler (rushing TD) paced host Evergreen Park (2-0).  

Lyons 31, Wheaton Warrenville South 28: Patrick Cheney returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown for the Lions (2-0) at home. Jack Slightom passed for two TDs and rushed for another.

Oak Forest 42, Stagg 0: Olaf Kozub carried 20 times for 126 yards for host Stagg (0-2).

Oak Lawn 47, Thornridge 6: Danny Strelow rushed for two touchdowns — including a 77-yarder — for visiting Oak Lawn (2-0). Strelow also threw for two scores. Jayden Schlosser scored on runs of 40 and 3 yards for the Spartans.

Reavis 30, Thornton 0: Niko Roberts scored on a 33-yard pass from Dardan Nreci and on a 53-yard punt return for visiting Reavis (2-0). Parker Zasada had a 1-yard TD run along with a sack and two tackles for loss. Nick Pryor ran a fumble back 35 yards for a score, Skylar O’Neal picked off a pass and Blake Stefanek kicked a 37-yard field goal.

St. Laurence 37, Evanston 21: Jimmy McDermott scored on runs of 14 and 34 yards for St. Laurence (2-0). McDermott finished with 64 yards on seven carries. Noah Taylor threw TD passes of 19 and 2 yards to Matthew Williams for the Vikings.