Football Game Preview: Nazareth Academy Roadrunners vs. St. Rita Mustangs

The Nazareth Academy Roadrunners will challenge the St. Rita Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Nazareth Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Illinois' top teams: Joliet Catholic, who was ranked 21st at the time (Nazareth Academy was ranked fifth). The Roadrunners blew past the Hilltoppers 48-21 on Friday. The win continues a trend for the Roadrunners in their matchups with the Hilltoppers: they've now won eight in a row.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask St. Rita). They took their contest on Friday with ease, bagging a 48-13 victory over Niles Notre Dame. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 26-6.

Nazareth Academy better focus on containing Brandon Johnson Jr. and Steven Armbruster as the pair were huge in St. Rita's win. Johnson Jr. rushed for 110 yards and a pair of TDs, while Armbruster threw for 186 yards and one touchdown. Those 110 rushing yards gave Johnson Jr. a new career-high. 86 of Armbruster's passing yards were hauled in by Walter Jones.

Nazareth Academy's win bumped their record up to 4-1. As for St. Rita, their victory bumped their record up to 2-3.

Nazareth Academy took their win against St. Rita in their previous meeting back in October of 2024 by a conclusive 45-21 score. Will the Roadrunners repeat their success, or do the Mustangs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.