Aug. 13--Carson Bartels desperately needed something to do.
He and his Nazareth teammates had just lost the Class 3A baseball state final to Highland, 7-6, on a walk-off hit. The second baseman and pitcher couldn't sit and stew, wouldn't let the reality of a gut-wrenching defeat overcome him. He needed something. So the next day, on Sunday, June 13, his football season began.
He met up with some teammates for a light workout at Nazareth, in preparation for practice the next day, and never looked back. The baseball sting remains, but the fortune of having another engrossing activity buoyed the starting senior quarterback.
"It was one of those things, like, thank God I had this," Bartels said. "Other kids, right after the game they had to sit around for a week and think about what happened. I got to come out here and be with all these guys. That made it 10 times easier."
The 5-foot-10 Bartels now has the task of following up the greatest football season in school history. The Roadrunners went 14-0 last year -- they outscored opponents 298-34 in the first quarter alone -- and won the Class 6A state championship against Lemont.
For head coach Tim Racki, who won four consecutive state titles at Driscoll from 2001-04, it was the perfect season. Early domination led to running clocks, which resulted in more second-half snaps for the group that will be counted on this year. Last year's reserves have extensive varsity reps, which gives the new starters a unique dynamic.
"You don't want to forget about what happened (last year)," Bartels said. "You want to remember what you did to prepare, what prepared you to get to that spot. But at the same time you don't want to live in the past. You want to write your own chapter, basically do it your own way. Write your own book."
The new edition is highlighted by the electric Julian Love. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior, who chose Notre Dame on March 21, plays running back and receiver on offense, cornerback on defense, and returns both kicks and punts.
"Julian embraces us leaning on him in all phases," Racki said. "He's in a place now, where last year we had all these guys that didn't know where they were going to college. He picked his dream school. Now that that's set, he's completely focused. He doesn't stop. He knows there's a mark on his back, but that elevates his game."
Racki leaned heavily on departed running back Nolan Dean (258 carries, 2,051 yards, 29 TDs) last season, but Racki and Bartels expressed confidence that any approach would have thrived with as much talent as the Roadrunners had. Racki adapts his scheme to each season's personnel, so an aerial attack likely will trump a run-heavy offense. He cites Love, plus juniors Cameron Weems, Ivory Kelly-Martin and Justin Weller as reasons why Oregon's spread offense is the optimal reflection.
"This great group of guys we have is exciting," Bartels said. "We lost some guys, but we have a lot of very good talent coming back."
Bartels beat out the talented A.J. Rouse for sole quarterback duties this summer. Racki was quick to note that the 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior will still be utilized in other offensive wrinkles due to his athleticism and playmaking ability.
The Roadrunners shuffled up to three signal-callers last year, but that won't be replicated. Bartels, who threw 56 passes last year, gets the keys alone.
"Having a quarterback like (Bartels) is so important," Racki said. "The kid has ice in his veins. He wants the ball in those tough situations, and he's well aware of all those weapons around him. It makes it easy coaching-wise, knowing that it won't be quite like last year, but we'll be a different type of powerful offense."
Nazareth
2014: 14-0 (7-0, 1st place East Suburban Catholic).
Playoffs: 6A state champion (W 26-7 against Lemont).
Coach: Tim Racki (66-39 in 11th season).
Key player: Julian Love, Sr., RB/WR/CB (749 rushing yards, 549 receiving yards, 72 tackles, 5 INT, 25 total TDs).
