DePaul Prep Dominates Geneseo 38-13 in 3A Playoff

By Jack Lydon

The DePaul Prep Rams dominated the Geneseo Maple Leafs 38-13 Saturday afternoon in the IHSA 3A second round playoff game. The Rams’ offense scored on all five of their first half possession with four touchdowns and a field goal.

No one knew what to expect in this game. Geneseo (6-5), a team from western Illinois by the Quad Cities, in the Western Big 6 Conference runs an old school double wing “three yards and a cloud of dust” type offense that offense that gives teams trouble who don’t regularly see it. The double wing expects to run the ball and control the clock. Geneseo did neither.

After the Rams took the opening kick off down the field for an early score, a three-yard touchdown run by Rams’ senior running back Nick Martinez, Geneseo answered. On a classic quarterback option, Maple Leafs’ junior tail back Kye Weinzert took the pitch and raced up the Rams’ sideline 75 yards to Rams 12 yard-line. On the next play, Geneseo junior quarterback Braxton McAvoy threw for a 12-yard touchdown on a pass to the middle of the endzone. Not exactly three yards and a cloud of dust.

But Fernando “Juju” Rodriguez and the powerful Rams offense were too much for Geneseo. The one-two punch of Juju’s passing and the gashing runs of Nick Martinez had the Rams scoring every time they had the ball in the first half: four touchdowns and a field goal. A double-wing offense simply can’t overcome that.

It wasn’t just the conservative offense that doomed Geneseo. The Rams’ defense had something to do with it. The Rams forced six turnovers and allowed probably not that many first downs. The Rams recovered four Geneseo fumbles and intercepted two passes.

It was the Rams that ran the ball. Senior running back Nick Martinez returned to the Rams backfield after aggravating a hamstring injury in the final regular season game against Benet and sitting out the first playoff game against Dyett.

“We held [Nick Martinez] out last week on purpose. We wanted him to get healthy. He felt good all week long. He was back. With him and Juju [Rodriguez] in that backfield, they get it humming,” said DePaul Prep head coach Mike Passarella.

They did indeed. Martinez’s runs kept Geneseo off balance and opened up the passing lanes for Rodriguez who threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.

“Missing a few games really affected me. I still had to stay disciplined to make sure I had a good recovery. My plan was to come back for this game and dominate,” said Martinez.

The Rams will face St. Laurence (7-3) in the 4A quarterfinal game at DePaul Prep Stadium next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. St. Laurence defeated Wheaten Academy (9-1) in something of an upset with the Vikings being the 12th seed defeating the #4 seed, Wheaton Academy 26-14.

St. Laurence is out of the Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic League White Division. The White Division is stacked with two other top teams Fenwick and Montini. Fenwick upset Brother Rice last week but lost to Downers Grove North in a close game 13-10. Montini, a 3A team, defeated #1 seed Byron and is a favorite to win 3A.

St. Laurence and DePaul Prep did not play this year. Their common opponents included only St. Patrick and Carmel. Both St. Laurence and DePaul Prep won those games.

It's had to say who will be a favorite in the DePaul Prep v. St. Laurence game. The Rams come in with the higher #9 seed to the Vikings #16 seed. But that doesn’t much matter as it does not take strength of schedule into account. The CCL/ESCC White would be considered a higher division in the conference but not by much. But the Rams are 4-1 at home this year losing only to Loyola at home.

DePaul Prep Defeats Mount Carmel 41-38; Win Chicago Catholic League

Here is a preview of this week’s story in the Inside—Booster:

By Jack Lydon

This was a heavy weight prize fight between two top teams, #4 ranked DePaul Prep (27-2, 8-0) and #7 Mount Carmel Caravan (26-5, 6-2), with top players, Jaylan McElroy and Angelo Ciaravino, for the Catholic League Championship. The Almighty must have wanted to save this game for end of season and cast the City of Chicago into a deep freeze on its regularly scheduled day causing the postponement to the end of the season.

This was not only the best game in town Monday night; it was the best game of the season and everyone knew would be. DePaul Prep’s Tom Winiecki Gym as packed. There was an unconfirmed report that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelse snuck into the balcony seats after the game started but I did not see them.

The Rams fell behind 10-2 midway through the first quarter. Their shots were not falling. Mount Carmel scored inside early. Two things that typically do not happen. The Rams typically own the first quarter and give up very few points inside and trailed 14-8 at the end of the first quarter.

“They kept their composure. We talked about it. We have been there before. We are 13-1 in the playoffs the last two years. They have seen everything from down twelve with 2:50 to go to double overtime and overtime at Leo. They have seen a lot. It’s a thirty-two minute game,” said DePaul Prep head coach Tom Kleinschmidt.

The Rams rallied in the second quarter with stellar defense holding the Caravan to five points and going into halftime tied at 19-19. This would be one of those games decided in the last minute.

In the second half, the Rams came out of the gate scoring opening a seven-point lead at one point in the third quarter. But Mount Carmel is too good to go away quietly. The Caravan’s best player, Angelo Ciaravino, the fourth ranked player in the class of 2024, made his presence felt scoring 14 of his 18 points in the second half.    

“We did a poor job on [Ciaravino] late. We had some poor execution defensively. He is that good of a player. He going to the Big Ten for a reason,” Kleinschmidt said.

The game was tied at thirty-eight each late. The defenses were tough. A steal by DePaul Prep’s PJ Chambers led to a foul that stopped Chambers from a layup. The gym screamed for an intentional foul as Mount Carmel’s player wrapped up Chambers with both arms. Chambers free throw game the Rams a one-point lead.

Mount Carmel’s Ciaravino fifth foul caused another stoppage and a blizzard condemnation from the Caravan’s head coach Phil Segroves.

Two more free throws by sophomore forward Rashawn Porter game the Rams a three-point lead. The Caravan had the ball down three points and a chance to tie the game with a little over ten seconds to play. Point guard Noah Mister drove the lane, his right foot slide, he put his left for down, leaned back picking up his right foot, shot the ball which went in. A whistle rang out. The gym collectively growned thinking it was a shooting foul and Mister would have a chance to tie the game.

No. The call was traveling. The ref waived off for basket. DePaul Prep got the ball.

The Rams held on in the final few seconds winning 41-38 to secure the Chicago Catholic League championship for the first time since the 2018-2019 season. Their sole Catholic League championship since the Gordon Tech days.

“First goal is done, yes,” said Kleinschmidt of the championship. “It’s everything. It’s the best league in the state by far. One of the best in the Midwest. There are a couple places to be greedy in basketball. Winning, winning it all and at the free throw line you get greedy. We are extremely proud of being undefeated in the best league in the stat and one of the best in the Midwest. 27-2, just tied a school record.”

“We just took what they game us,” said DePaul Prep’s leading scorer, senior forward PJ Chambers, with 20 points said.

“It was very important to win the Catholic League. Coach [Kleinschmidt] was very clear on what it means to win the Catholic League championship by ourselves. It’s so nice to win it all by ourselves.” Technically, the Rams had secured at least a three way share of the Championship with Brother Rice’s defeat of Mount Carmel the previous Friday.

What’s the second goal?

“State baby!” Chambers said. The Rams enter the IHSA 3A division state championship tournament next week. They open the in the Carmel Catholic regional in Mundelein on Tuesday. As the number one seed, the Rams will initially face the winner of the Grayslake North and Amundsen and then the winner of Wauconda and Carmel Catholic.

DePaul Prep Handles Loyola 40-18

The DePaul Prep Rams are for real. They just keep passing test after test. The #9 ranked Rams (10-0, 2-0) defeated the #25 ranked Loyola Academy Ramblers (8-3, 1-2) 40-18 at DePaul Prep on Friday.

If defense is Loyola’s calling card, DePaul Prep handed it right back to them Friday night at DePaul Prep’s Tom Winiecki Gym, and then some. The Ramblers has only managed to score nine points against the Rams until well into the fourth quarter. That’s not a typical high school even for the notoriously low scoring Catholic League games. The Ramblers managed to double that output in garbage time finishing with 18 points.

The Rams had struggled against the ‘Blers in recent years dropping four out of the last five games they have played with scores typically in the thirties and forties. Last year’s score was the lowest of the last five with a 39-36 Loyola win.

DePaul Prep’s man-to-man defense denied open shots to the Ramblers. Rams’ guards PJ Chambers, Makai Kvamme, Rob Walls and AJ Chambers were defending everything. The shots the Ramblers did manage to get up, didn’t fall. Rams forward Jaylan McElroy, Jonas Johnson and Rashawn Porter battle on the boards preventing easy second shots for the Ramblers.   

Junior forward Jonas Johnson led the scoring for the Rams with ten points including to three-pointers that lifted the Rams late in the first quarter. Senior guard PJ Chambers had nine points despite missing significant minutes because of some early foul trouble. Senior forward Jaylan McElroy finished with eight points.

The Chicago Catholic League Blue is largely regarded as the best conference in the state this year. Six of its nine teams have been ranked this year: # 4 Mount Carmel, #5 Brother Rice, #9 DePaul Prep, #13 DeLaSalle, #25 Loyola and formerly ranked St. Ignatius. The win over Loyola lifted the Rams to 2-0 in the conference. Mount Carmel and Brother Rice also remain undefeated in conference play with Friday night wins over St. Ignatius and DeLaSalle respectively.

“Lane was ranked in the pre-season. Lane tested us. Niles North tested us. Those teams are good. We haven’t been Catholic League tested. Loyola was on the road at Br. Rice. They were [tested] and we weren’t. I was nervous about that,” Rams’ head coach Tom Kleinschmidt said. His Rams passed the test handling the Ramblers like they haven’t in recent years.

Of his defense, Kleinschmidt said, “I think we switched up on them. We took them out of their first and second options. We stayed home on some shooters. The ball was not falling for them. We had a little bit to do with that. There we some shots that they would make on other teams.”

Loyola’s coach Tom Livatino is as good as it gets and dialed up the defense at the start of the second quarter going to his high-pressure trapping one-three-one defense.

“We had some unforced turnovers that we were not real happy with but the way we were guarding we forgave that a little bit,” Kleinschmidt continued. “We practiced the one-three-one. We have seen it on film and we were prepared for it.”

Coach Kleinschmidt was all business after the game with little time to celebrate a dominant Catholic League victory. That might have something to do with the fact that the Rams will face #6 ranked Bloom Township (5-2) on Sunday.

“They are big and strong. We haven’t watched them. We put all of our eggs in the Loyola basket. We will watch it tonight and tomorrow morning and then we will have practice. It’s the last game before [Christmas] break. We will go play our ass off and give it shot,” Kleinschmidt said of Bloom.