Nazareth Academy’s football team had no problem moving the ball up and down the field Friday night against Benet in Lisle in an East Suburban Catholic Conference matchup.
Unfortunately for the Roadrunners, despite running 81 plays for 342 yards, they were almost their own worst enemy, committing 11 penalties for 95 yards. Nazareth was able to overcome those miscues to top the host Redwings 24-7, though.
The win keeps Nazareth (4-1, 2-1) on pace with ESCC front-runner Joliet Catholic, which is 3-0, as well as St. Patrick, Carmel, Notre Dame and Marist, all of which are 2-1 in the league.
Nazareth didn’t look flashy in topping Benet (1-4, 1-2), but did what needed to be done to get the win.
The score was just 14-7 heading into the fourth quarter. Nazareth upped its lead to 17-7 thanks to a 23-yard field goal from Pat Dunn with 4:41 to go.
The big blow came moments later when it looked like the Redwings might make a comeback.
Getting possession at its own 30, Benet went to work. Jimmy Riley hit Marty Flavin for a 16-yard gain to start the drive, then hit Neil Ostrander for an 11-yard gain to get to the Nazareth 43.
However, his next pass was picked off by Steve Murphy, who 62 yards the other way and scored. The extra point put Nazareth up 24-7 with just a little more than four minutes to play.
“The D-Line got some really good pressure and forced the throw and I was right there,” Murphy said. “We didn’t play our best game tonight, but it was nice to still get the win. We’re tough. We’ve just got to keep fighting.”
Nazareth opened the game with a marathon five-minute drive, spanning 38 yards, but the drive stalled at the Benet 34. It then went three-and-out on its next drive as the game remained scoreless after eight minutes.
What turned it around for Nazareth was a big play from Steve Ryan midway through the second quarter.
With Benet stalled at midfield, Ryan broke through and blocked a punt, giving Nazareth possession at the Benet 42. Eight plays later, Adam Marske found La Steven McKinney for a 24-yard scoring pass.
Marske threw the ball 35 times Friday, which is more than Nazareth usually goes to the air. The reason, according to coach Tim Racki, is exploit defenses which put eight or nine in the box to stop McKinney.
“We’re going to see a lot of that eight-or-nine in the box,” Racki said. “I think that will open it up for Adam Marske a little more. La Steven gets a lot of the press, but games like this are nice where the rest of the guys can get some press.
“The story of the night was our defense. We played great defensively. Their only score was my gaffe. The mood and energy surrounding our defense, I’m really proud of them.”
While McKinney still eclipsed the century mark, running for 166 yards, he had a lot of help in this game, including two sacks from Kyle Borkovec and one from Mike Williams on defense, with Murphy and Mike Dore picking off passes, as well.
The Nazareth defense held Benet to just 72 yards on 39 plays for the game, including holding the Redwings to just five first downs and 3-for-8 on third down conversions.
Offensively, Nazareth held the ball for 31 minutes, 18 seconds, and had 19 first downs, averaging eight yards per play.
Pretty much the only negative for Nazareth was the 95 yards in penalties.
“We do have to clean that up, but I want to watch the film first,” Racki said. “The crew did a nice job. To be successful, though, we are going to have to clean up the penalties. We still have to improve.”

Game breakdown
Score by quarter 1 2 3 4
Naz 0 14 0 10
Ben 0 7 0 0
2ND QUARTER NAZ Adam Marske 24-yard pass to La Steven McKinney (Pat Dun PAT), 4:41; BEN Jimmy Riley 7-yard pass to Mike Vanchieri (Andy Remar PAT), 3:14; NAZ McKinney 2-yard run (Dunn PAT), :17 
4th QUARTER NAZ Dunn 23-yard field goal, 4:41; NAZ Steve Murphy 62-yard interception return (Dunn PAT), 4:11
Passing NAZ Marske 16-35, 143 yards; BEN Riley 7-20, 67 yards
Rushing NAZ McKinney34-166, Reggie Jennings 3-11, Mike Williams 3-10, Mike Dore 1-7, Marske 5-0; BEN Mike Wuest 8-9, Alex Valladares 1-5, Riley 8-(minus-7)
Receiving NAZ McKinney 5-39, Mark O’Connor 3-40, Murphy 3-29, John Nelson 3-17, Williams 2-19; BEN Vanchieri 3-16, Marty Flavin 1-16, Wuest 1-13, Neil Ostrander 1-11, Mike Cunningham 1-9