Nazareth Roadrunners Travel to Dunlap, Claim 6A Playoff Opener 28-7

DUNLAP, Ill. Nazareth's football team drove two and a half hours south for its Class 6A first-round playoff game and returned to Libertyville with a 28-7 win at Dunlap on Saturday, Nov. 1.

The Roadrunners opened as a No. 20 seed after finishing the regular season 4-5 in the Chicago Catholic League. Nazareth's first possession started with a kickoff return to the Eagles' 33-yard line, and Gavin Hartigan ran it in from the 2 yards out for a 7-0 lead.

The rest of the first half turned into a defensive struggle. Nazareth safety Tyler Lukes intercepted a pass, Dunlap failed to convert on fourth down, and the Eagles punted. With about 7:30 left in the second quarter, quarterback JJ Chapman hit wide receiver Cash Coleman for 24 yards to complete a 50-yard drive and make it 14-0.

Chapman said he read the coverage before the snap. "They gave me this look where it's either quarters or man," Chapman said. "You can kind of tell if they're at 7 yards and I knew it was man right away. So I just picked my matchup and trusted [Cash] to make a play and that's what he did."

Coleman finished with five catches for 66 yards. Coach Tim Racki said Coleman contributed on offense, defense and special teams. "Cash had a heck of a game on both sides of the ball and special teams," Racki said. "He's a captain for a reason, he leads by example, vocally, and guys feed off of that enthusiasm and energy."

Nazareth's defense kept Dunlap off the board through the final two drives of the first half, and the score stayed 14-0 at the break. Hartigan led the Roadrunners with 56 rushing yards, with Jack Parisi and Charles Calhoun also carrying the ball.

Dunlap opened the third quarter with a 36-yard run by Jayden Schmick that moved the Eagles into the red zone. Nazareth's defense held there, forcing a fourth-down situation. The Roadrunners added two rushing touchdowns in the second half, with Dylan Wellner scoring in the fourth quarter.

Dunlap broke the shutout when a handoff went loose and Dunlap defensive lineman Brady Allen picked it up for the Eagles' only touchdown. With just over two minutes left, Nazareth's Jake Wallace intercepted a pass on third-and-11, and Parisi ran it in from six yards out on the next play.

Nazareth improved to 6-5 and moves to the second round against Simeon. Racki pointed to the travel as part of the challenge. "It's always great to get a road win in the playoffs, especially in the first round," Racki said. "We were already on the road in the opening round, but going two-and-a-half hours away is a big road trip and it takes a lot of preparation, so a lot of logistics go into it and it's very satisfying."

Racki also said the Chicago Catholic League schedule prepares teams for this point in the season. "Every team in our conference understands if you get through the season relatively healthy, it's just a bear of a schedule," Racki said. "You can't look past anybody, you're playing 8A, 7A, 6A powerhouses, so they're all playoff teams and they're all going to make deep runs."