St. Viator can’t catch Road Runners
The St. Viator Lions made the trek to LaGrange Park on Saturday hoping to quash Nazareth’s bid for an East Suburban Catholic Conference championship.
But the Road Runners were true to their nickname, drubbing the Lions 51-14 to earn a share of the ESCC crown with Marist — the first title in Nazareth school history.
“We just couldn’t keep up with their speed,” said Lions coach Chris Kirkpatrick. “They just wore us down towards the end. The character and the hard work was here today and all season.”
Nazareth (8-1, 7-1) jumped out to a 21-0 lead before the Lions (2-7, 1-7) knew what hit them.
Joshua Moore caught a 17-yard pass from quarterback Sam Poulos with 8:02 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead on Nazareth’s first posession.
The Road Runners deflected a punt and took over at the Lions’ 26. Moore ran 23 yards on first down and Kevin Curtin scored from the 5-yard line on the next play for a 14-0 lead with 6:16 left in the quarter.
Kalium Ewing picked off a pass by the Lions’ Mickey Macius (11-for-31, 114 yards, 4 interceptions) at the Road Runners’ 35 and returned the ball 65 yards for a 21-0 lead.
“We really played well the first six or so minutes,” said Nazareth coach Tim Racki. “I thought it might be easy, but to St.Viator’s credit they didn’t quit and made a nice comeback.”
On their next possession, the Lions marched 74 yards to score on A. J. Wergzyn’s 3-yard run to cut the lead to 21-7 with six seconds left in the quarter.
Moore scored again for Nazareth with 7:09 remaining in the half on a 3-yard run.
St.Viator cut the lead to 28-14 just before the half on Macius’ 13-yard pass to Brian Guth with 1:11 left.
Moore broke the Lions’ back by breaking loose for a 52-yard TD run with 6:25 left in the third quarter and a 35-14 lead.
“Our line executed well on that run,” said Moore, who rushed for 132 yards in 13 attempts. “There was the seam and I found it and went to the promised land. We didn’t set a goal for the conference championship, but we knew if we worked hard it could happen.”
“It was a big one,” said Racki about Moore’s run. “Sometimes he takeas a little time to get going, but the offensive line took it personally that they did not block well in the second half. This was a great win for the school and community.”
Ewing returned his second interception for a 28-yard TD and a 42-14 lead.
“I was reading their quarterback pretty well and got to know their routes,” said Ewing. “I thought our defense could be a factor in this game. The coaches prepared us well.”