LAGRANGE – Tyler Morris seized his opportunity.
With Batavia trailing by two touchdowns with three minutes left in Saturday's Class 7A quarterfinal, the Bulldogs converted a pair of fourth-down chances to cross midfield.
Morris, Nazareth's sophomore, needed one play to erase that progress.
Morris stepped in front of Kyle Oroni's pass attempt, and blazed to a 56-yard touchdown the opposite direction. The Roadrunners went on to a 38-24 win in LaGrange Park.
"[I] kind of read the quarterback's eyes and saw him staring the out [route] down," Morris said. "Just read it and decided to try and jump it."
Defending champ Nazareth (12-0), in beating Batavia in the playoffs for the second straight season, advanced to play Rolling Meadows in next week's semifinal.
Thanks, in part, to Morris.
"[Morris] is awesome; not only a great player, he's an awesome kid," said Nazareth junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy, a Michigan recruit.
"He's just one... awesome athlete and awesome teammate. Hopefully, I could play with him in a couple years, too."
The Bulldogs (9-3) weren't quite done, however. Oroni needed just two plays to connect with running back Art Taylor for a 44-yard touchdown to cut the lead back to 14.
The ensuing kickoff, Batavia junior Evan Kopf recovered an onside kick attempt to set the Bulldogs up at midfield, but Oroni's subsequent pass was intercepted by Breven Reifsteck to essentially put the game out of reach for good.
Morris also had five catches for 99 yards and a TD.
"Tyler, he was stud for us last year as as a freshman," Nazareth coach Tim Racki said. "I'm not surprised with the big plays that he had today. You get spoiled and take it for granted, but...that's why he's a national recruit as a sophomore."
Nazareth took a 22-7 lead into the half. Derrick Strongs Jr. scored a 3-yard touchdown on the Roadrunners' first possession, but the extra point was missed. McCarthy later found Morris for a 22-yard touchdown for a 13-0 lead with 5:25 left in the first quarter.
Drew Hughes later tacked on a field goal for the 16-0 lead, but Batavia two-way star Quinn Urwiler finally found the end zone with a 4-yard run. McCarthy responded with a 17-yard touchdown to Tanner Koziol for the 22-7 halftime lead.
McCarthy, who threw for 240 yards and three TDs, opened the third quarter with a 22-yard touchdown to Landon Morris for the 28-7 lead.
Landon Morris finished with six receptions and 83 yards. Batavia defensive back Sam Barus then ran back the kickoff for an 85-yard touchdown.
Hughes made another field goal with 3:46 left for the 31-14 advantage, but Batavia had a few more plays left in them.
The ensuing possession, the Bulldogs were able to draw Nazareth offsides to prolong a stalled drive, which eventually turned into Jackson Williams' field goal with 7:34 left in the game and the lead trimmed to 31-17.
Nazareth again approached the end zone, but were turned away. After driving to the Batavia 7-yard-line, the Roadrunners nixed their initial try for a field goal and instead put the offense on the field for a fourth-and-goal touchdown try following a timeout. Batavia senior linebacker Cam Jones ripped through the line for a huge sack on McCarthy to set the stage for the big finish.
Batavia star running back Art Taylor was bottled up by the Roadrunners, rushing for only four yards in the first quarter and 15 on the game. Wideout Trey Urwiler had a solid finish to his junior season with 8 catches for 81 yards. Oroni had 15 completions and 189 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
"Outstanding young men," Batavia coach Dennis Piron said of his outgoing senior class.
"Everybody fought to the very end this year. They love Batavia. They love the commitment level that they make."
"These group of seniors," Quinn Urwiler began, "We started off small...We're a very tight group. We spend every second of every day together, so this one hurts."
