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 Wins Playoff Game 48-8 over Dyett

[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.