Playing on the road in a steady rain against an inspired Wheaton Warrenville South team Saturday, Nazareth’s first half effort wasn’t emblematic of the three-time defending state champion.

The next 24 minutes were a different story.

Behind an offensive line that helped turn the tide, the Roadrunners used four rushing touchdowns over the final two quarters to defeat the Tigers 28-7 in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.

With the victory, Nazareth (10-1) advances to the quarterfinals for the eighth consecutive season to take on Lake Zurich.

Charles Calhoun scored a pair of touchdowns, including the go-ahead 14-yard run with 1:03 left in the third as the visitors overcame a 7-0 deficit at intermission. Calhoun finished with 159 rushing yards on 17 carries.

“We came out flat in the first half,” said Calhoun, who added a one-yard TD run early in the fourth. “That wasn’t our game. In the second half, we came out hyped. We were playing selfishly in that first half, in the second half everyone was just doing their job. And we were led by our O-line, it’s such a strong group. They got it done for us.”

Fellow running back Justin Watson, behind that O-line grouping of Luke Injaychock, Nathan Sefcik, Carson Ryan, Alexander Harris and Christian Malachuk, also found the end zone twice, on scampers of 16 and 6-yards. He totaled 53 yards on 13 attempts while quarterback Jackson Failla completed 11-of-19 passes for 129 yards. Trenton Walker hauled in three catches for 69 yards.

That turned out to be more than enough production as the Roadrunners’ defense held the Tigers to 68 yards through the air. A stop on Wheaton Warrenville South’s fourth-and-1 attempt from its own 44-yard line on the opening possession of the second half helped swing the momentum.

“We weren’t playing our game,” said defensive end Christopher Kasky, who for the second week in a row blocked a punt, this time setting Nazareth up for Calhoun’s short TD run in the fourth. “The coaches knew it, us players knew it. We weren’t playing Nazareth football, that’s all it was.”

Walker added an interception on defense while Will McGarry contributed a sack.

“We were uncharacteristically uptight,” said Nazareth coach Tim Racki, whose team has been bumped up a class this fall after capturing three straight Class 5A titles. “We usually don’t play like that but at the same time, Wheaton Warrenville South was playing great. They have tough kids.

“At half, we didn’t make adjustments, we just kind of set the tone. Let’s get back to what we’ve been doing all season that got us here. Our O-line and our offensive coordinator Casey Moran did a great job in that second half. We’ve been very balanced all year because of our O-line, we can run it and we can pass it.”

The Tigers (7-4) scored their touchdown on a 6-yard run by Owen Yorke with one minute left before halftime. The senior totaled 115 yards on 27 carries and ended the year with over 1,833 yards rushing.

“This was a special group,” said WWS coach Sean Norris. “High character kids who were committed 100-percent and they embodied the never give up and refuse to lose mentality. I am so proud to have coached them.

“We talked about leaving it all on the field and they did. I felt we had our moments in the first half; we executed well. We really executed on defense to slow up their powerful offense. In the second half, there were a couple momentum swings that hurt us. And they were able to rely on their offensive line; they are big upfront. But credit to our guys and our coaches who prepared them. I felt we had a good gameplan coming in. Nazareth obviously had a lot of firepower, they’ve put up a lot of points.”

Norris was also effusive in his praise of Yorke, who was the DuKane Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

“He carried the load for us,” the coach said of his three-year varsity player. “He’s been everything you could ask for out of a Tiger football player. To put up the numbers he did against the competition we played, that is impressive. I’ve said it a few times, he is one of the best running backs in the state. And obviously our O-line did a great job opening holes.”