One mistake wasn’t going to distract Logan Malachuk from the task at hand.
Malachuk, who took over as Nazareth’s starting quarterback as a freshman, is a senior now with a pair of state championships on his resume. On Friday night against No. 16 Kankakee, he was brilliant with 359 passing yards and three total touchdowns in the No. 4 Roadrunners’ 37-30 home win.
But what said more about Malachuk than the numbers was how he reacted to one of his few mistakes. Early in the fourth quarter, Keyandre White had a 45-yard pick-six to give the Kays their second touchdown in less than 90 seconds and a 30-29 lead.
“He owned it,” Nazareth coach Tim Racki said of Malachuk. “He shared with me that he wasn’t happy with himself. But when he does that, he goes to the bench, he watches film, watches replays. He uses it as information. I was not worried one bit about him.”
The Roadrunners missed a possible go-ahead field goal on their next possession. But after the defense forced the Kays into a three-and-out, Malachuk and the offense took over at midfield. Four plays later, he found Jake Cestone in stride for a 46-yard touchdown pass to put Nazareth ahead to stay with 3:46 remaining.
“We called it in the huddle and I kind of had an idea that I was going to go to him before the play because of [what] we saw on film,” Malachuk said. “Got a little pressure … kind of, not rolled out but side-stepped to the left and he beat his guy and I just threw it out there. He made a heck of a play.”
Cestone finished with five catches for 95 yards, James Penley added five catches for 72 yards and Trenton Walker had three receptions for 69 yards including a 44-yard TD. In all, Malachuk had 13 passes of 10 yards or more to five different receivers. He finished 17-of-32 passing.
How does it feel to have that many dependable receiving options?
“It’s like a kid at a candy store,” Malachuk said. “Every one of them is open at one point. You double one kid, someone else is going to be one-on-one and I like our matchups with any guy one-on-one.”
Malachuk also had a 30-yard touchdown run, Lesroy Tittle added a five-yard TD run and Edward McClain Jr. scored from a yard out to put Nazareth up 29-16 going into the fourth quarter.
But sophomore quarterback Phillip Turner’s second touchdown run and White’s interception return, both in a span of 87 seconds, gave the Kays a 30-29 lead with 9:32 remaining.
Then Malachuk went to work, Nazareth’s defense got a turnover on downs with 2:25 left and the Roadrunners ran out the clock.
Stanford commit Gabe Kaminski led a Nazareth defense that had four sacks and several more tackles for losses against a Kankakee team with exceptional overall speed.
“I think we have speed, too,” Kaminski said. “Our game plans are really well-designed. Our defensive coordinator knows how to counter their speed. … They’re a really good team. We knew we had to come out swinging.”
The Kays went up 9-0 early on a safety and Cedric Terrell III’s 80-yard return of the ensuing free kick.
“(Terrell), he’s a playmaker,” Kankakee coach Miles Osei said. “Our skill guys can get loose at any time. …
“We’ve got to figure out a way to get better. The kids have a goal of something bigger.”