By Jeff Vorva

When COVID-19 hit in 2020 and the Illinois High School Asso-ciation football season was postponed in the fall, some of the best players in the state left Illinois to play in states that allowed football during that time.

Some players from Nazareth Academy – including star quarterback J.J. McCarthy – left, and in 2021, that left veteran coach Tim Racki scratching his head about the future of Roadrunner football.

Four years later, the Roadrunners capped off an accomplishment that has never been done in program history.

They won their third straight Class 5A state championship with a 29-27 victory over Joliet Catholic Academy on Nov. 30 at Hancock Stadium on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal.

Racki was thankful to the members of the Class of 2025 for their contribution to rebuilding the team so quickly.
“The seniors here came in as freshmen, and it came after the shutdown when we didn’t have a season,” Racki said. “Guys had transferred to play football everywhere, and our numbers dwindled. These guys came in with faith in the program and helped to get the program back to where it was prior to that shutdown.”

“They made it to the quarterfinals their first year and left their legacy winning three straight state titles, which had never been done at Nazareth,” he said. “That’s quite a standard to surpass, considering the past success that we already had.”

Two of those freshmen played all four years on the varsity and made their mark.

Quarterback Logan Malachuk not only led the team to three straight championships, he threw 11,184 yards in his four-year career, according to Nazareth stat keepers, which would put him No. 1 in the state.
Stanford-bound linebacker Gabe Kaminski also made his mark on defense for the Roadrunners.

Malahcuk, a Burr Ridge resident who was still in the process of selecting a college after the state championships, said he is glad he could get to experience going to the LaGrange Park school.

“Coming in as a freshman, I didn’t know what to expect,” Malachuk said. “I knew about the culture and the success. But I liked the way they welcomed us all in and taught us the right way – the Nazareth way – how to play football and how to treat your teammates like brothers. I mean, yeah, state titles are nice, but I feel this group and all the groups in the past have done a tremendous job of staying together no matter what adversity we face.”

In his sophomore year, the Roadrunners were the first team with four regular-season losses to win a state championship. In 2023, the team was 4-5 and one of the last teams to qualify for the playoffs. It went on a postseason run and became the first team in history with a losing regular-season record to win a title.

This season, it was more conventional as the team was 7-2 in the regular season.

In the state title game, Trenton Walker had four catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns. James Penley and Kaminski had touchdown catches. Kicker Frankie Nichols kept a drive going with a fake punt and 24-yard run, plus a fake extra point kick that turned into a two-point conversion pass to Hank Sakalas.

Garrett Reese had 16 tackles, Kaminski 15, and Nolan Daly 11 for the Roadrunners.

Racki said this senior class was also special because the players stayed humble.

“As a coach It makes it fun when they understand the culture, they understand expectations, they understand the standard, and they understand the process,” he said. “They understand how we have to prepare, so it really makes my job much easier knowing that leadership and the expectations.

It’s not like I have to reinvent the wheel with them. But if anything, I could give them more ownership, which I did.”

Quarterback Nolan Malachuk, who led Nazareth to three straight state titles, acknowledges the Nazareth crowd after winning the 5A title on Nov. 30 in Normal. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Nazareth’s James Penley, who had a touchdown catch and an onside kick recovery, soaks in the celebration after his team won the Class 5A state championship. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Nazareth’s Nolan Daly gets a hug during the Roadrunners’ celebration after winning the Class 5A title on Nov. 30 in Normal. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Trenton Walker hauls down a 74-yard pass to start the scoring for Nazareth in a 29-27 win over Joliet Catholic for the IHSA state Class 5A state title. Photo by Jeff Vorva