Benet running game held in check

Nazareth made sure Benet went nowhere Friday night in Lisle.

The Roadrunners held the Redwings to just 3 net yards rushing on 17 carries, pulling away from the Redwings (1-4, 1-2) late in the fourth quarter for a 24-7 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory.

"We've really had trouble getting the rushing game untracked all year, and we've got to keep on working at that," said Benet coach Gary Goforth. "We've been forced to throw the ball so much that they're going to start teeing off. And I thought their defensive backs were very solid. They blanketed our receivers."

"Defensively, we played outstanding," added Nazareth coach Tim Racki.

Meanwhile, Nazareth tailback LaSteven McKinney grinded out 161 yards rushing on 31 carries. He caught a 24-yard touchdown pass on a middle screen, and he gave the Roadrunners the lead for good with a 2-yard run in the second quarter.

"He played really well. He played excellent," Racki said. "He knows everybody's going to be eyeing him up, everybody's going to be stacking the box."

Field position played a big role in the second half, as the teams traded punts through the third quarter and well into the fourth. The Redwings were within a touchdown until a Patrick Dunn 23-yard field goal with 4:41 to play made the score 17-7.

Benet got the ball back at its 30-yard line and completed 2 straight passes to move into Nazareth territory for the first time in the half. But Steven Murphy intercepted the next pass and returned it 60 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

"It's a shame they got the interception at the end of the game and scored the touchdown because we played on the defensive side as well as we can play," Goforth said.

The Redwings find themselves on the verge of being eliminated from a playoff berth.

"We've got to win four and we've still got Joliet Catholic looming on the horizon," Goforth said.

But for now the Redwings going to go back to work on the running game.

"That's going to take some time," Goforth said. "I don't know. We've got the people there, we just aren't meshing together."

"We bounced back a lot from last week (a blowout loss at Notre Dame), so I give them credit for that. That's a testament to these kids," Goforth said.