Jackson Failla had to do a lot of research in the offseason to prepare for his senior year.

Unlike most football players, Failla’s spring and early summer work leaned on a more central and important focus – finding a new football team to lead. His family moved from western Pennsylvania to the Chicago area when his dad’s job relocated.

The senior quarterback found his new destination in LaGrange Park. Failla joined the growing legion of standout quarterbacks at Nazareth, most notably Minnesota Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy, to be QB1 for the highly esteemed program.

“My dad has a lot of friends in Chicago,” Failla said. “All of them talked so highly of Nazareth. I checked it out and looked into it. I saw Illinois has eight classes, so that was kind of cool to me. I knew I was going to a state champion from last year and previous years. I knew the football team was really good.

“I didn’t know J.J. at first went to Nazareth. The first time I went to Coach [Tim] Racki’s office, he had a bunch of J.J. stuff in his office. It was a shock to me.”

After splitting quarterback duties the first four weeks, Failla was named the starter for last week’s road game against Joliet Catholic.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Failla showed he adapted to his new school – and his new starting spot - smoothly by completing 16-of-20 passes for 308 yards and six touchdowns in a 48-21 rout over Joliet Catholic. Failla said he was happy with his first start.

The Roadrunners (4-1, 1-0 CCL/ESCC Green) were led by Jake Cestone’s four touchdown receptions against JCA.

“I had some nerves,” Failla said. “I was excited to play and start. I had a fun time. I just tried to keep my cool. I think it was very important for me to keep a level head and not get too high or too low. I think it gave me good confidence boost.”

Racki said Failla has made a seamless transition fitting into his program.

“He’s got good size and is athletic and is actually a very good volleyball player,” Racki said. “He came from a school with a very high-level volleyball team. He has incredible speed for his size, and a very good vertical. He’s got quite a cannon and can throw the ball a country mile. He’s getting acclimated to our offense.

“We knew it would take some time for him. He got here in June. He got adapted quickly in the summer, but our playbook is pretty extensive. Each week he’s getting more and more comfortable with our offense and all the reads he has to make and the tough competition week in and week out he has to face. I’m proud of our culture. Within a week, he loved the guys. They welcomed and embraced him. He fit in right away.”

Failla said he immediately bonded with his new teammates, namely wide receivers Cestone and Trenton Walker.

Failla said he only started three games at quarterback last season at his former school in North Allegheny, Pa., but he played setter and right-side hitter for his first three years on the varsity volleyball team.

“Everyone has been so welcoming of me,” Failla said. “I was definitely nervous coming in, but especially Trent and Jake, they were super awesome to me. I feel like I’ve been here for years.”

Five games into the season, Nazareth football is right on track toward another prolonged playoff journey.

Despite a new starting quarterback and only three returning starters on the offensive line, the Roadrunners have scored at least 33 points in three of their first five games.

Nazareth’s lone loss came at the hands of Class 8A No. 1-ranked Mount Carmel 42-23 in Week 3.

“I’m happy where we are at,” Racki said. “We break down the season into thirds. This weekend will close out the middle third as we head into the final third where we gauge our improvement from the first third to where we are now in the middle third. We keep improving and have been climbing, so that’s a good sign.”

Riverside-Brookfield remains undefeated

Riverside-Brookfield is one of the surprise unbeaten teams left in the area. The Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 Upstate Eight East) have a big conference game scheduled for Friday at Glenbard South (4-1, 3-0).

The Bulldogs won just four games last season.

“Obviously, we have some talented players to get into this position,” R-B coach Sam Styler said. “The team has worked their tail off and I’m proud of the way we started the season. We still have a lot to accomplish. Our ultimate goal is to win the conference. We have a tough test on Friday. We play a tough game. To be the best, you have to beat the best.”

Styler said the Raiders, who have won four straight games since losing their opener against Wheaton Warrenville South, can score points in bunches and played solid on defense.

“Glenbard South is extremely well-coached team,” Styler said. “They have great speed across the board. The offensive and defensive lines are very strong. They fly to the football and take pride in every aspect of the game. We have to play our style of football and execute on offense and defense and play our game and not let the moment get too big.”

The Bulldogs continue to rotate quarterbacks Giancarlo Garcia and Braeden Novak but rely on a solid rushing attack to move the chains. Riverside-Brookfield rushed for 215 yards in last week’s blowout win over Elmwood Park.

Extra points

Glenbard East (4-1, 2-0) is a team to watch in the UEC East. The Rams have reeled off three straight wins after dropping a 35-32 decision to West Aurora. Glenbard East closes the regular season with two of its biggest games, hosting Glenbard South on Oct. 17 and Riverside-Brookfield on Oct. 24.