Junior defensive lineman Chris Kasky recorded two sacks and contributed to a dominant first-half effort from the Nazareth defense during the team’s crucial CCL/ESCC Green Division matchup against St. Francis on Friday.

Nazareth generated six sacks, including five in the first half, while forcing three turnovers during the team’s 42-16 victory over the Spartans. On the offensive end, Nazareth (8-1, 3-0 CCL/ESCC Green) showed tremendous balance, with four players rushing for touchdowns including quarterback Jackson Failla, who threw for 207 yards and two scores in the victory.

“It wasn’t really about the scheme,” Kasky said. “We knew that if we could dominate up front, they couldn’t stop us. It was about who was winning in the trenches. It feels great and I’m excited for what’s next. It was all about our defensive energy. That’s what I can promise about our defense.”

A big sack from Kasky hautled the first St. Francis drive of the game, but a muffed punt on special teams enabled the Spartans to retake possession and gain a 3-0 lead on a 36-yard field goal by Evan Kolinski. A turnover on downs ended Nazareth’s first offensive series, but another Kasky sack on St. Francis quarterback Brock Phillip allowed the Roadrunners to force a punt.

Nazareth surged ahead early in the second quarter, when Failla flicked a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Trenton Walker, who made a nifty catch near the boundary line in the end zone. On the other side, St. Francis (6-3, 1-2 CCL/ESCC Green) was unable to get its passing attack going, as the Spartans finished the first half with just 4 yards through the air.

“We played a very good football team and when you make mistakes, you don’t have an answer on offense or you can’t stop the run on defense, you can’t win football games,” St. Francis head coach Bob McMillen said. “We have to figure a lot of things and more than anything, we need to figure out the heart of this football team... We need to find that determination.”

Sacks from Emmett Hartnett and Sonny Manzo helped Nazareth force the St. Francis offense off the field. The Roadrunners went ahead 14-3 after running back Justin Watson showed his shiftiness on a 6-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter. Watson rushed for a team-high 121 yards for the Roadrunners, who rumbled for 269 yards on the ground Friday night.

“The O-line did a great job of blocking for the run,” Watson said. “We played hard and practiced hard all week. It’s been a key emphasis for us. Between me, Charles [Calhoun] and Dylan [Wellner], we always try to get the run going so we can pass the ball. I’m very blessed since this is my last ride.”

A critical mistake hurt the Spartans in the final seconds of the first half. Scrambling to make a play, St. Francis quarterback Iggy Amorrortu, in for Phillip, threw a deep ball across his body that Nazareth defensive back Johnny Colon intercepted and returned to the 2-yard line. The turnover set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Calhoun, who had 52 rushing yards Friday.

Taking the ball to start the second half, Nazareth scored on its opening series, going ahead 28-3 after a 26-yard touchdown strike from Failla to Walker, who posted three catches for 66 yards. St. Francis answered with a 22-yard touchdown run by Phillip, but the Roadrunners countered, taking a 35-10 lead on a 14-yard touchdown run by Wellner, who bobbled the ball on the ground before picking it up and knifing through the St. Francis defense.

“I know how amped up everyone was to play this game,” Failla said. “The game plan was to do our thing and this was a good all-around win for us. It feels awesome and I’m glad we could come out and put up the performance we did. Every week, we do our thing and we try not to do too much.”

Wellner totaled 40 rushing yards for the Roadrunners, who forced their second turnover of the night late in the third quarter, when defender Henry Sakalas picked off a deep ball from Phillip. Sakalas also intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter, snatching a deep ball thrown into double coverage. With the win, Nazareth clinched the outright Green Division title this season.

“Our game plan was to make sure we prevent big plays and we wanted to keep everything in front of us so our big guys could eat,” Sakalas said. “We stayed true to our technique. We prepared for this game and our coach talked to us before the game about being loose and being ourselves. We were ready to go from the jump. It’s always great to win the division.”

Phillip, who led the Spartans with 119 rushing yards, scored the final St. Francis touchdown of the game, taking a run up the middle before a slew of Spartan linemen pushed the pile forward 9 yards to the end zone. Nazareth iced its win midway through the fourth quarter, where Failla kept the ball on a read option and sprinted past two defenders for a 45-yard touchdown.