[A preview of my story in Inside—Booster.]
By Jack Lydon
The DePaul Prep Rams (7-3) defeated the Dyett Eagles 48-8 Saturday afternoon at Stagg Stadium on the South side. The Rams had a 42-0 halftime lead on the Eagles so there was a running clock in the second half.
The Rams defense opened the game with an impressive start that set the tone for the rest of the game. Dyett had -17 years of total offense on the first two drives. The Rams offense answered with two quick touchdowns making the score 14-0 before Dyett had a first down.
Even with the two quick touchdowns, the Rams’ offense was not hitting on its usual strength the passing game and the passing and scrambling talent of senior quarterback Fernando “Juju” Rodriguez.
“I would say I was just antsy,” Rodriguez admitted after the game.
“I saw [Juju] after the second drive I grabbed him. I said dude, ‘you’ve gotta calm down.’ He was late. They ran a little bit of a different defense than what we say on films. So that was new and he was probably just trying to work through some adjustments,” said Rams’ head coach Mike Passarella.
Not that this was a big deal. They lead 14-0. And the defense was playing at a level they have not been at in weeks. A few incomplete passes is hardly a huge problem or even something unusual.
The second quarter was a whole different story. Rodriguez calmed down. He scrambled around, avoiding tackles and making big throws. The Rams put up four touchdowns and extra points in the second quarter and took a 42-0 at the half.
While the final score of 48-8 might suggest that the Rams would be a heavy favorite coming into the game, which they were, the peculiarities of the IHSA seeding system had the Eagles as a #8 seed and the Rams as a #9 seed making Dyett the home team. The seeding system doesn’t take into account strength of schedule.
For instance, Sullivan High School finished the season 9-0 in the Chicago Public League’s White-North Division and earned a #1 seed in one side of the 4A bracket. However, Sullivan played only other CPL teams and no team from the CPL’s top division, the Red Division. Sullivan lost 42-0 Saturday at Winnemac Stadium to Geneseo, a rural school from Western Illinois just outside of the Quad Cities.
Geneseo, now 6-4, will be the Rams’ next opponent next Saturday as the 4A playoffs continue. This time the Rams’ will be a home team in playoff game for the first time in decades. Geneseo will once again have to travel across the state to Chicago for a playoff game. This game will prove a good deal more competitive for both squads.
The Geneseo Green Machine comes out of the Western Big 6 Conference, which has seven teams, where they finished in fifth place with a 5-4 record. Don’t be fooled by that. There are very good teams in that conference, including Quincy and Moline, both playoff 7A teams.
Geneseo employs a double wing offense that is difficult for teams to stop. The offense is something of an old-school run-heavy offense that controls the ball in three yards and a cloud of dust fashion. Old school or not, this offense can be very effective. Lane Tech head coach Dedrick Dewalt proved that a couple years ago when he dialed it up for Champions who won six straight with it and made the playoffs. The Rams coaching staff will have to be coaching up their players on how to stop the double wing.
Even more disconcerting about Geneseo has to be their uniforms. The Green Machine’s uniforms are basically the same as the Green Bay Packers. The mere sight of those yellow and green helmets are bound bring out a mix of hatred, anger and dread amongst the Rams players, coaches and fans.
