Nathan Wrublik takes center stage as lead back, carries Lemont to second big win at Nazareth

LA GRANGE PARK – Lemont’s Nathan Wrublik had a defined role last season.

Playing time at running back was scarce with star Albert Kunickis serving as the focal point of the offense. Kunickis, now a freshman at Northwestern, rushed for 1,393 yards and 22 touchdowns last season.

[ Photos: Lemont vs. Nazareth football ]

So for many games, Wrublik watched from the sidelines, especially after a season-ending ankle injury.

“Albert taught me so much last year,” Wrublik said. “He’s such a hard runner. He told me to hit the hole, get vertical right away and lower my shoulders and I would get good yardage, and to hold onto the ball. As long as I do that, we have a good offensive line.”

Two games into his senior season, Wrublik is showing off his ability to be the centerpiece of Lemont’s offense.

Wrublik rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown to lift Lemont to a 24-17 nonconference victory over Nazareth on Sept. 2 in La Grange Park.

Lemont (2-0) claimed its second signature nonconference victory after beating Libertyville in Week 1.

Wrublik sparked the offense with a 25-yard touchdown run on his third carry of the game.

With all five starters back on the offensive line, Lemont rode the legs of Wrublik to chew up yards while keeping the Roadrunners off-balance with an effective passing game.

“This is a great win,” Wrublik said. “Last year, we barely beat them. This year, we dominated. They crept up on us a bit at the end, but we still got the ‘W.’'’

A week after a wacky game that saw Nazareth defeat Class 5A runner-up Kankakee 2-0 thanks to a first-quarter safety on an errant snap, Nazareth scored its first touchdown of the season midway through the second quarter.

Nazareth sophomore quarterback Logan Malachuk, who was 10-of-16 passing for 107 yards in the first half, lofted a pass toward the sideline to Zach Hayes. The senior wide receiver hauled in the reception – nearly scooping the ball off the head of the defensive back – for a 25-yard TD to knot the score at 7-7. Malachuk passed for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns to fuel the offense. Hayes hauled in four receptions for 52 yards and two TDs.

Lemont answered with a late second-quarter drive, punctuated by junior quarterback Payton Salomon’s 4-yard touchdown run for a 14-7 lead with 18.6 seconds left until halftime. Salomon torched the Roadrunners with his arm and legs, passing for 232 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Luke Wallace was his favorite target, catching seven passes for 129 yards, including a 78-yard TD.

“We knew these last two games would be tough, but we wanted this competition and wanted to create that back-to-back atmosphere you need in big games,” Lemont coach Bret Kooi said. “The kids stepped up for us.”

The Roadrunners (1-1) struggled scoring points, mainly because of an abundance of dropped passes, bad snaps and costly defensive penalties that helped extend several drives for Lemont.

Trailing 24-7 late in the third quarter, Nazareth battled back with a field goal and a 6-yard touchdown catch on fourth down by Hayes to slice the deficit to 24-17 with 4:12 left in the fourth quarter.

But the Roadrunners couldn’t overcome their mistakes.

“We have to lick our wounds and learn from it because here comes [highly-ranked] Marist,” Nazareth coach Tim Racki said. “It starts with me because we had too much confusion and maybe I have to simplify things. I think I failed our guys. The staff has just as much work as the players do. But we came out and fought back up until the end. We gave great effort in the second half and responded after a lull late in the first half. We have to fix things. We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves because Marist is next.”