After Malachi Lee got home from Thursday night’s opening of Bishop McNamara’s new Rich Zinanni Athletic Complex, the transfer couldn’t stop thinking about scoring the first touchdown at the Fightin’ Irish’s new facility.

It doesn’t count towards the regular season, but after the Fightin’ Irish hosted Streator in a Week 0 scrimmage Friday night, Lee can give his mind a rest.

The Bradley-Bourbonnais transfer made the best possible first impression in front of his new fans Friday, taking the first play of the night 80 yards to the end zone for the first of three McNamara touchdowns – all accounted for by Lee and his twin brother Micah – while the defense pitched a shutout.

“I was thinking about it all night,” Malachi Lee said. “I really wanted to get the first touchdown in this big, beautiful stadium.”

In a format that saw both teams run two 12-play offensive sessions, Micah Lee found senior wide receiver Coen Demack for a 52-yard touchdown on the opening session as well and then scrambled in a score from five yards out on the second-to-last play of the night.

Malachi, the 2025 Daily Journal Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year, was a starting slot receiver for the Boilermakers last fall as well. While he’s started to build his own profile, Micah has the chance to begin his own legacy this year.

“It’s really nice,” Malachi said of Micah’s opportunity to shine. “I’ve got high expectations for him and expect him to do [well] just like me.”

The Lee twins are two of three Bradley-Bourbonnais transfers, joined by senior linebacker Ian Irps, who is back at the school he spent his first two years at. All three made impactful plays all night for first-year McNamara coach Greg Youngblood. They’re also the only ones in the locker room that know what a postseason grind is like, as the Irish are looking to snap a three-year playoff drought.

“Big school, playing high-level competition, they’ve been there, done that, and I think that means a lot,” Youngblood said. “We have a bunch of seniors that have been working hard, but I think they’ve brought a ton of energy, and all three of them were impactful tonight, for sure.”

Streator head coach Jay Slone returns to alma mater

Streator also had a test run with a new head coach Friday, Jay Slone. It was also a homecoming for the new face of the Bulldogs, as Slone is a 2013 McNamara graduate and former football and basketball standout in green and white.

And not only did his first game action come at a familiar spot, but his Bulldogs got to be a part of the first football played at the new facilities that are named after his own high school coach.

“It’s an honor to be the first team to christen Rich Zinanni [Athletic Complex] and Memorial Field,” Slone said. “It’s definitely an honor and privilege to do that. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

The Bulldogs went 3-6 a year ago and haven’t seen a postseason since 2017, when another McNamara graduate, Brian Hassett, patrolled the sidelines. Slone said he was “definitely excited” to get under the lights in a game-like situation, and as they turn their attention to their first game week Monday, they now know what obstacles stand in their way of a postseason return.

“We just see some things to clean up and that’s a part of being a head coach, making sure you stay positive at all times and that your team’s firing on all cylinders,” Slone said. " ... Honestly, going into Week 1 it’s a playoff mentality. At Streator we haven’t been to the playoffs too much, so I want to make sure we get into that mindset early."

As Slone led the Bulldogs out to the visiting sideline, a welcome home sign was waiting for him. It was left by his sisters, Jersey and Journey, current McNamara students and members of the girls volleyball and track and field teams.

They enjoyed rivalry action last year, when Jay was an assistant for a Herscher team that knocked off the Irish in Week 2. Friday’s game didn’t count in the record books, but if it had, Jay knows that he probably wouldn’t have had much familial support.

“I think they’d support both sides,” he said, “but I’ve got to give it to the Slone family to cheer for Mac. That’s alright.”