Nazareth senior class sets new standard in storied program: IHSA state finals CCL/ESCC notes

Nearly four years ago, choosing to enroll at Nazareth seemed like an odd choice at face value for senior Logan Malachuk. The COVID-19 pandemic led to many transfers out of the Roadrunners program and he knew one person at the school.

But after talking with head coach Tim Racki and those who knew the program well, Malachuk still believed in the program that reached five state championships from 2014-19, winning three titles.

His belief, along with other Roadrunners seniors’, was rewarded once again Saturday when they won their third straight Class 5A state championship. But Malachuk was proud of what the Roadrunners accomplished as a group to get to that point.

“State titles are nice, but I really feel that this group and all the groups in the past have done a tremendous job of staying together no matter what adversity, no matter what we face,” Malachuk said. “It’s just one big brotherhood.”

Nazareth’s senior class went through plenty of adversity since stepping in as freshmen during the fall 2021 season. The Roadrunners reached the 5A quarterfinals in 2021 and then proceeded to have two historic championship seasons.

In 2022, Nazareth won eight straight games after starting the season 2-4 to take the 5A crown. A year later, the Roadrunners topped that feat by winning their second straight title after starting the year 0-4, becoming the first five-win team in the regular season to win it all.

Despite all their accomplishments on the field, Racki was proud of the impact this year’s senior class had on years to come.

“The humility that they’ve displayed these past three and four years, the effort they’ve shown and, more importantly, how they took care of these younger guys and set that bar,” Racki said. “They were never above it all with them. They knew they needed them. They led the right way. They led with respect and love and taught them the Nazareth football way.”

Mount Carmel’s historic night

The Caravan wrote their names into the history books in more ways than one Saturday night when they won their third straight 7A state championship.

Mount Carmel won its IHSA-record 16th state championship while senior quarterback Jack Elliott broke a couple state championship records. But the Caravan also became the first three-loss Mount Carmel team to win a state title.

“Not a lot of things went right this year, especially in the regular season, we were just struggling to get to the playoffs,” Elliott said. “We got to the playoffs, had a talk as a team when we knew what we wanted to do and we just went out and did it. So it’s pretty special being up here again.”

The Caravan’s three losses were their most in a season since 2021. They went undefeated in 2022, then lost one game last season.

Mount Carmel lost its season opener to the Hun School from New Jersey, then lost two CCL/ESCC Blue games to Brother Rice and Loyola. The Caravan played without Elliott in their loss to the Crusaders, which ended on a last-second field goal.

Caravan coach Jordan Lynch lets his senior captains lead the team for much of the year, whether it’s in the weight room or on the field. He was proud of how they overcame obstacles to win a third straight.

“It’s not my team, I’m just a head coach,” Lynch said. “These guys make the decisions, and these guys, the team goes as these guys go. So I’m extremely proud of these guys.”

Loyola overcomes the odds

Much like the Caravan, the Ramblers’ road to a third straight state championship was different compared to the previous two seasons. But Loyola overcame a 1-2 start and a tough road in the playoffs to accomplish what it set out to do at the beginning of the season.

“The way we started off the year, they kept their faith,” Loyola coach Beau Desherow said. “They kept their trust in the process. They played for each other and we accomplished our goal.”

Loyola faced adversity right from the start when East St. Louis blew the Ramblers out in their season opener. A couple of weeks later, the Ramblers dropped their second game of the season without their starting quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald in their loss to St. Francis. It was the first time Loyola lost two games in a season since 2019.

Without an injured Fitzgerald at times, Loyola went on to finish the regular season 7-2. Once Fitzgerald was healthy to play consistently in the playoffs, Loyola went on to win the 8A bracket, with tough tests against Marist, Maine South and Lincoln-Way East.

“We had to shift our focus to each game instead of focusing on the big picture after going 1-2,” Fitzgerald said. “But we decided to put our heads down and go through every single team after that. So I’m really proud of every guy on this this stage and every guy in that locker room for grinding there, grinding every every single day, coming in and putting all that work on film and showing out.”

Montini returns to glory days

For a couple of seasons, it seemed like the Broncos’ glory days might’ve passed the program. Montini won six state championships from 2004-15, appeared in seven straight title games during that span and qualified for the playoffs for 27 straight seasons.

But Montini finished 3-6 in both 2021 and 2022, struggling to regroup from a pandemic hit in numbers.

The Broncos regrouped last year, reaching the 3A semifinals, before winning the 3A championship Friday. Montini coach Mike Bukovsky credited his senior class for righting the ship.

“They stuck with our program two, three years ago,” Bukovsky said. “We had a couple rough years and they really were tested and they felt the pressure of living up to some of the past achievements of Montini teams. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a tighter group than this group. Twenty-eight seniors speak a lot in terms of what these young men have done for our program.”

DePaul Prep gets over the hill

The Rams have gone through a steady progression since coach Mike Passarella took over in 2019. DePaul Prep hovered around two and three wins before picking up a fourth last season.

The program qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2015 this year and went on to make history, winning the 4A state championship.

“We see how far we’ve come and we fell a little bit short in the past,” Passarella said. “All those things that we talked about in years previous, what these guys have battled through and how close they were getting the year right now. I mean, there was nothing that could stop these guys.”

Joliet Catholic falls short again

Nazareth has become a thorn in the Hilltoppers’ side recently. Joliet Catholic has lost three straight games to the Roadrunners over the past two seasons, including two title game matchups.

The teams battled in a close 16-13 Nazareth win in Week 5. Joliet Catholic coach Jake Jaworski said the game plan didn’t change too much from the first game.

“Some of it came down to some execution,” Jaworski said. “Unfortunately, I think we’ve kind of left some plays and some points on the board again.”

CCL/ESCC championship numbers

The five CCL/ESCC state champions this weekend was the most the megaconference won since it formed in 2019. That beat the previous high mark of four, which happened in 2022 and 2021. Three teams won last season, and two won in 2019.

Five might end up being the high mark for the megaconference for years to come. Many CCL/ESCC teams are expected to move up in classifications in the next couple of seasons due to various factors, including higher school enrollments, multipliers and success in the playoffs. That will lead to more CCL/ESCC teams playing in the same classes as opposed to ranging from 3A to 8A.