St. Patrick knew that an upset of Nazareth Academy would be extremely difficult at best. The Roadrunners squashed any hopes for the overmatched Shamrocks early and often.

Nazareth exploded for 37 points in the first quarter en route to a 47-23 win in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.

Five different players scored touchdowns for Nazareth in the first quarter. Diamond Evans started the scoring barrage with a 58-yard touchdown catch. Tyler Morris (17 yards), Dylan Smith (11 yards), Michael Love (37 yards) and Jailon Welch (21 yards) added a touchdown run each behind a mammoth offensive line.

Sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy led the Roadrunners’ diversified attack with a 5-for-8, 123-yard outing. Backup quarterback Teddy Olander (6-for-9, 119 yards, TD pass) also played well.

In addition to making six extra points, kicker Andrew Hughes converted a 28-yard field goal, extending the Nazareth lead to 40-0. After the Shamrocks got on the scoreboard with a touchdown, Evans (3 receptions, 96 yards) caught his second TD of the game to make the score 47-7 at halftime.

Love excelled as a dual threat with two carries for 67 yards and four catches for 73 yards. The Roadrunners amassed 416 yards of total offense and 18 first downs. Jonathan Harris (5 tackles) and Jermaine Baker (4 tackles) led Nazareth defensively.

In the second half, St. Patrick scored a safety and two touchdowns to make the final score more cosmetic at 47-23.

Nazareth (4-0) hits the road this week with a game against Benet Academy on Friday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is 7 p.

Friars get first win

After a difficult three weeks, the Fenwick High School football team turned in a fairly balanced effort on both sides of the ball to beat Leo 18-7 on Saturday.

“We are happy with the win as our young men continue strive for improvement,” Fenwick coach Gene Nudo said. “Offensively, we need to become more consistent in catching, throwing and blocking. Defensively, we continue to improve weekly. In the kicking game, we continue to win the battle each week.”

The Friars, who earned their first win in four games, controlled the line of scrimmage with a solid running game and dominant defensive effort.

Running back Mitch Lopez rushed for 110 yards on 29 carries and also caught a 58-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Danny Cronin.

The Friars scored their other touchdown on a 20-yard double-pass, caught by Marcus Wright. Brian Moore finished with two catches for 33 yards and Fenwick caught four passes for 111 yards overall.

Aided by some bad snaps on the part of Leo, Fenwick also recorded a pair of safeties to account for its other scoring.

Cronin, who completed just 1 of 7 passes for 58 yards plus an interception, left the game late in the first half with a knee injury. Reserve quarterback Rian O’Connor went 2-for-10 passing for 33 yards.

 On defense, Max Forst led the Friars with 5.5 tackles and an interception. Danny Farnan (5.5 tackles), Solomon Singleton (2 pass deflections), Tom Dvorak (2.5 tackles, fumble recovery) and Bryce Legan (2 tackles, sack) also contributed for Fenwick, which limited Leo’s running game to under 50 yards.

Fenwick (1-3) visits De La Salle in a conference division game on Friday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

“Our preseason goals still lie ahead, to win our conference,” Nudo said. “We know it we have a big test this week. De La Salle is very impressive on film. Our men continue to fight as any Friar would.”

Lions win in OT

Running back Tyrone Smith scored on a 10-yard run, lifting Lyons Township to a 13-7 win over Proviso West on Sept. 14. He finished with 138 yards on 27 carries. The Lions finished with 192 yards of total offense.

Tay Dextra threw a 15-yard TD pass to Arsenije Matkovic with 2:42 left in the second quarter to account for the other Lions’ score.

Proviso West scored first on a 32-yard run to lead 7-0 with nine seconds left in the first quarter.

LTHS (1-3) hosts Leyden in a West Suburban Conference crossover on Friday, Sept. 31. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.