Joliet Catholic vs. Nazareth: Steve Soucie’s IHSA championship game preview

Class 5A

Nazareth (11-2) vs. Joliet Catholic (10-3)

When: 10 a.m. Saturday, Hancock Stadium, Normal

About the Roadrunners: Nazareth’s victory over St. Francis in the semifinal round not only avenged a regular-season loss to the Spartans, but secured Nazareth’s place in the state title game for the eighth time since 2014. The Roadrunners will be trying to claim their six title during that historic stretch and third consecutive crown. Nazareth seems to have Joliet Catholic’s number recently, not only earning a 16-13 victory over the Hilltoppers in Week 5, but also a 38-20 victory over Joliet Catholic in last year’s Class 5A title game. Nazareth has an experienced roster that has tons of time logged on the biggest stage, so it seems unlikely the Roadrunners will approach the game with an overabundance of confidence that Joliet Catholic will just cave because of the previous result. QB Logan Malachuk is a difficult player to contain, as the veteran QB is just as capable a runner as he is as a passer, which gives opposing defenses a lot to worry about. Malachuk spreads the football around to a lot of different players. WR Jake Cestone is one of his more frequent targets, but the ball could end up in the hands of about a half dozen receivers on the regular. Defensively, Nazareth also possesses the ability to put the clamps on its foes. DE/LB Gabe Kaminski, a Stanford commit, has been wreaking havoc on opponents’ offenses since his freshman season, and the Roadrunners have consistently held foes to three touchdowns or fewer, allowing more on just three occasions (Kankakee, Mount Carmel, and the first meeting with St. Francis). Nazareth also seems to have a knack for adding extra possessions when it can and forced four turnovers in the St. Francis win in the semifinals, making Nazareth a difficult team to steal momentum from. St. Francis tried to steal some momentum back by running back the kickoff to start the second half, which Nazareth successfully parried by simply running back its own kick on its next opportunity.

About the Hilltoppers: A casual look at the schedule might leave one thinking Joliet Catholic could be in trouble here against Nazareth, a team that has had their number as of late. But the team that fell back in Week 5 to the Roadrunners is not the same version of the Hilltoppers that will be arriving in Normal this weekend. Joliet Catholic has trampled everything and everyone in its path in the postseason, allowing no more than eight points to any of its four postseason opponents and just 22 points overall. The offense is doing its part as well, having scored at least 42 points a game and putting up 192 points overall. The offensive attack has been extremely lethal largely due to the fact that opponents can’t figure out a way to effectively deal with an offensive line that is massive and very talented. Joliet Catholic’s army of running backs certainly appreciates their efforts. RB Larry Stringham was the biggest benefactor in Joliet Catholic’s semifinal win over Morris, as he racked up 185 yards and three touchdowns. Stringham is just one cog in that running attack that often gets big efforts from Nate Magrini, Vince Bremner and Keegan Farnaus. Bremner was injured in the Morris win, whether that will keep him out of the state final is currently unknown. Joliet Catholic is an impressive 15-5 all-time in state championship games, most recently winning state championships in 2018 (5A) and 2021 (4A) and finishing runner-up to Nazareth in 2023 (5A).

Friday Night Drive pick: Nazareth