DePaul Prep Defeats St. Rita 41-32

Wow! Huge 41-32 win for the DePaul Prep Rams over a talented and big St. Rita Mustangs team. I try play it straight and not to be such a fan in these posts but with these top Chicago Catholic League games at the end of the season, I just give that up.

It was just great to see the Rams beat St. Rita last night in probably one of the last games in the Tom Winiecki Gym. The Rams are not going to be CCL champs this year but these wins over Loyola, Brother Rice and St. Rita in recent days sure are nice. That 20-4 overall record is pretty impressive. Three losses in the CCL hurts but these big wins at the end take some of the sting out of that.

St. Rita was without their star sophomore point guard Jaedin Reyna. They missed him. The Mustangs struggled even to take outside shots. And they still almost won the game.

There was a really cool moment early in the game. The Rams were passing the ball around looking for a shot. The gym fell a little quiet. The whole gym could hear Coach Klienschmidt yell to his team, “Michigan. Everything we talked about we are not doing. Flash to the ball.”

That was cool. You just don’t get that in other sports.

Like so many Gordon Tech and DePaul Prep teams lead by Tom Kleinschmidt, if they get a lead late in a game, it so hard to beat them. Tom’s teams handle the ball well and make their free throws—usually. They struggled a little with that early in the season but not anymore.

The Rams made their free throws at the end last night and won by nine points over the vary talented 24th ranked St. Rita team. The Mustangs are in second place in the CCL Blue at 10-2 with a 19-10 overall record. CCL Blue second place will be at stake on Tuesday. The Mustangs take on Brother Rice and the Rams travel to Leo. If the Rams win and the Mustangs lose, DePaul Prep will finish in second place by virtue of the head-to-head victory of St. Rita.

Leo and Marian Catholic are left for the Rams before the 2A playoffs. Leo is having an historic season and I am glad for them. They are CCL Blue champs and deserve to be. We will see if the Rams can go to Leo on Tuesday and come away with a win.

As for the photos, I have been working on my “Kirsten Stickney Reaction Shots.” Didn’t get many good ones but I am going to keep working on them.

Coach Kleinschmidt called for team photo after the game. He wanted to savor this last regular season home game in the Tom Winiecki Gym. The photos turned out well.

Senior Night for DePaul Prep MBB

It was a very successful senior night for the Rams. DePaul Prep honored its graduating seniors, Trevon Thomas, Alex Gutierrez, Julian Green, Ijeh Nwaezeapu, Cole Ceravolo, Will Brown and Dylan Arnett. The senior students defeated the faculty and the Rams beat the Friars.

As for the seniors, it may have been senior night but there is plenty of work in the season left to do. More on that in a few days.

At half time, a group of seniors took the floor for a quick basketball game against the faculty. Despite rumors of a substantial number of former NBA and WNBA ringers being brought in to put the students in their place, this reporter found no evidence of that.

The faculty opened an early lead. The students charged back with some fancy inside moves. It quickly became clear that the students controlled the boards. The faulty had no hope. Students win—as it should be. Hope and light prevail. All is right in the universe.

The second half of the varsity game seemed equally odd. Fenwick just came apart. The Friars could not hit a basket. I wasn’t keeping stats but the Rams got nearly all the rebounds and scored at will. The Rams 26-12 half time lead became 35-16 at the end of the third and then a 47-16 final. The Friars did not score in the fourth quarter.

Nevertheless, the Rams and the large crowd were having fun. The students section was cheering for the appearance of senior players with a little less than five minutes left in the game.

The senior night makes me a little sad. The group of seniors will be moving on. I reflect on the season that has been, the CCL games left to play and the IHSA playoffs to come.

The fun and games are over. Serious business from here on out.

As for the photos, I got the flash working just right for the senior photos. That’s like the first time ever.

Vincent D. Johnson from the Tribune was in the gym. Apparently, he took my advise to check out the Tom Winiecki Gym on his photographic tour of high school gyms. I had not met him before. We had a nice talk about cameras and lights. It seems we are both fans of the old but wonderful Canon 7D.

DePaul Prep Defeats Loyola 42-29

The Loyola Academy Ramblers visited DePaul Prep for a game that was originally scheduled to be played at Loyola. It seems the Ramblers’ gym was a needed for a parent fundraiser. The fundraiser worked out well for the Rams, not so much for the Ramblers.

There was an energy in the Tom Winiecki Gym on Friday that isn’t there at times. And there was a fire in the coach and players.

The Rams opened a 14-2 first quarter lead. Loyola had trouble getting shots up. The shots they did were not well taken. The Rams lead 21-10 at the half.

More of the same in the third quarter. The Rams held their lead. In the forth Loyola’s coach Tom Livatino put the Ramblers in a 3/4 court trapping press. The Ramblers cut the lead to eight midway through the fourth. That is as close as the Ramblers would get.

The Rams got back to doing what they do—protect leads and kill clock.

Final—Rams 42, Ramblers 29.

I don’t know what’s next. I have just been enjoying this one. The Rams move to 7-2 in the Catholic League and 17-3 overall.

As for the photos, I moved around a little in the fourth quarter. I took some shots from the stage which I haven’t done in years. I hope you like the photos.

Lane Tech Falls to Orr 66-59

I made my way over the Orr High School last Friday for the Lane v. Orr game. I have seen Lane a couple times this year and they are on the verge of some big victories against powerhouse teams. Could this be the day.

As usual, never a dull moment at Orr. For some reason there were only two referees. A questionable call exercised Lane’s energetic coach Nick LoGalbo to the point of a technical foul. Things just unravelled after that. There were excessive foul shots. They took two points off the board because the wrong player took the initial technical foul shots. I have never seen points coming for the board before that game.

The game continued. The Lane Basketball Team played well. Orr’s size just provided that extra boost with some inside dunks late in the fourth to left the Spartans to a 66-59 victory.

Now that Orr has new lights, it is not quite as challenging to take photos there was it once was. But I still love going there. It’s fun place to see a game. It was only about half full but it is a loud of a gym as one will find. I hope you like the photos.

Lane Tech Falls to Trinity 48-23 in National Women in Sports Day Shootout

The Lane Tech Women’s Varsity Basketball hosted a shootout in celebration of National Women in Sports Day. Four games in one day: Loyola Academy v. Westinghouse, Resurrection v. Payton, DePaul Prep v. Jones and Lane v. Trinity.

I have shooting so many games in recent days that I can’t work up even a nominal story on the games. I published a brief post and gallery about the DePaul Prep v. Jones game yesterday but it was all I could do to get that done. I have bitten off more than I can do with doing games during the weeks and one or two shootouts on the weekends.

I hope you like these photos from the Lane game. With the new lights in the Lane gym and the new camera, the exposures I get are so much better. I hope you like the photos.

DePaul Prep Rams Handle St. Francis de Sales 63-11

When I was a kid in the ‘70’s, St. Francis de Sales had one of the best football teams in the state. I remember going to Elk Grove High School to see them play St. Viator in one of the first IHSA playoff games. As I recall, the Pioneers beat the crap out of our beloved Lions. And that was no ordinary Lions team. They were good. The Lions won the ESCC in football every year when I was a kid.

Today, I am here in the Tom Winiecki Gym at Gordon Tech campus of DePaul Prep. The St. Francis de Sales sophomore team has 6 players.

It makes me kind of sad, but I understand that Catholic schools change with their communities. Hegewich of 1975 isn’t what it is today. For that matter, the 33rd Ward isn’t what it was in 1975.

I have learned over the years that Chicago Catholic League teams treat each other with respect (except for the Brother Rice football team and it current and thankfully outgoing coach, but that’s a whole other story).

I am glad St. Francis de Sales is here. Even though I was raised in the ESCC, I am a CCL guy. My dad was a graduate of St. Phillip, a long ago closed Catholic high school in Garfield Park. There was no high school at St. Benedict in the 1940’s. Even though he lived at Irving and Oakley, his widowed mother sent him to St. Phillip far away on the West Side so he could get a Catholic education. My dad taught me to love the Catholic League. I developed a healthy dislike for some of the fancy schools.

I don’t dislike the fancy schools anymore. I, myself, am Jesuit educated at the university level, but I still want to beat the crap out of their CCL schools.

I covered the DePaul Prep v. St. Francis de Sales game and not some other games today, like Lane at Lincoln Park, that I could have, and ought to have—the Jesuits taught me the importance of the word, “ought”) so I could get some shots of DePaul Prep players that don’t play much.

I’m glad I did. The young men at St. Francis de Sales should also have their effort recorded. No matter what else happens in their lives, they can always say, I played varsity basketball in the Chicago Catholic League.

I told that to my son some years ago. He rolled his eyes. But I suspect he will take some pride in years to come for having played varsity football and basketball in the Chicago Catholic League.

St. Ignatius Edges DePaul Prep 42-41

The No. 25 DePaul Prep Rams (3-2, 11-3) travelled down to Roosevelt Road to take on St. Ignatius (3-2, 10-7) in a Chicago Catholic League crossover game. I tweeted earlier in the day that it was too early talk about must-win games but it felt like it this evening in St. Ignatius’ Gentile Gym. CCL teams cannot afford conference losses in pursuit of a championship. Both schools had large and loud student body contingents in attendance.

This was a well-played and well-coached game. Not many fouls. Not many turnovers. Tons of passes. The teams matched up well. They know each other. Precious few surprises. Just tough quality basketball.

As these CCL games usually go, there was not much scoring in the first quarter. It was 9-6 after one quarter. DePaul sophomore guard Payton Kamin had four of his thirteen points in the first quarter to pick up a struggling Rams offense. The tight bucket for bucket matchup continued in the second quarter as the teams traded scores. 18-17 at the half.

In the third quarter, the Wolfpack were able to open a little margin on the strength of inside buckets off the dribble by Senior forward Kolby Gilles.  

“Kolby (Gilles) is a really tough matchup for a lot of guys because he has perimeter and post skills. So if he has a smaller guy on him, he is able to post up and score around the rim but if he’s got a bigger guy on him, he is able to stretch the floor, create off the bounce and shoot the three a little bit,” said St. Ignatius coach Matt Monroe.  

The Wolfpack stretched the margin to nine points at one point in the third quarter. But the Rams were not going away. Tom Kleinschmidt and his team are too good and too experienced for that. It was a two-possession game most of the fourth.

With 1:20 left the Rams pulled within three points. Under a minute, it was two points. With 18 seconds the Rams were only down one—42-41. Excellent foul shooting and a key turnover gave the Rams the ball and a chance to win on a final shot. Senior guard Alex Gutierrez took a good shot. It rimmed out.

Final: Wolfpack 42, Rams 41.

After the game, Monroe spoke highly of DePaul Prep.

“I knew that these guys were going to be very well prepared. They run a great system and are very effective in what they do. For us the game was making sure we knew are scout coverages. We were able to navigate all the sets that they run. And that we were able to team guard (Dylan) Arnett because he is really, really effective post player. He is a fantastic player.”

But it is the Wolfpack that are clawing their way back from a disappointing start to the season. After opening the year ranked No. 4 in the Sun-Times Super 25, Monroe’s squad dropped 5 of their first 11 games.

“Five of our losses have been by 2 or 3 points and they have all come down to the final possession of the game. When I was talking to our guys after some of those close losses, we talked about how our struggles were going to be the reason for our success later. I think going through that gauntlet, playing some incredible teams and falling short a few times, has prepared us to be in that situation again.”

Richard Barron and Kolby Gilles each had 15 for the Wolfpack. Payton Kamin led the Rams’ scoring with 13; Dylan Arnett with 11 and Jaylan McElroy with 7.

DeLaSalle Defeats DePaul Prep 40-37

The DePaul Prep Rams (3-1, 10-2) fell to the DeLaSalle Meteors (0-3, 4-13) Friday evening (January 7, 2022) 40-37 at the Tom Winiecki Gym.

The Rams were without their head coach Tom Kleinschmidt but were ably led for the evening by assistant coach Michael Sneed. Coach Kleinschmidt is expected back for tomorrow’s Steve Pappas Shootout.

The Meteors came out shooting well and jumped out to an early first quarter lead on the strength of three three-pointers. At the start of the second quarter it looked like the Rams might do what they usually do—pull ahead but despite taking a 19-16 lead, the Rams could not hold their lead.

DeLaSalle’s coach Gary DeCesare is just one of those coaches that can impact a game by the shear force of his will. Maybe it’s just me, but he is as much fun to watch as the action on the court. He returned to coaching in the Chicago Catholic League this year after coaching out of state last season. He formerly coached at St. Rita where he met with considerable success during his tenure. I caught up with him after the game.

“DePaul’s a great program. They were the number one team in the state last year and those kids that played tonight were on that team; so they know how to win,” DeCesare said.

“For our program, taking over, trying to change the culture, we are learning how to win. We played some really tough competition. Our last seven games have been out-of-state. We played in [Las] Vegas and Arkansas. We went 0-7. I told the kids when you come back, you are going to meet teams just like we played. Everybody in the Catholic League is good and well coached. We’ll be prepared.”

As so they were.

They came ready to play. There were precious few inside buckets for the Rams. DePaul’s senior center Dylan Arnett had difficulty getting the ball inside. And when he did, he was mobbed.

“Dylan’s a really good player. We have some bigs and I told everybody, ‘Use your fouls. Use all five fouls.’ We have three guys that are 6’6” or better. We gotta put a body on him and be physical. We know he is physical. Every time he touches the ball, he has to earn his points.

Despite Arnett being roughed up, the Rams were always within striking distance. With 10 seconds to go and only down two, the Rams got a turnover and had a chance to win with a three or to tie with a bucket in the paint.

It wasn’t to be. The Rams turned it over with a few seconds left without getting up a shot. A foul with 1.8 to play lead to a DeLaSalle made free throw making the final 40-37.

The Rams host the Steve Pappas Shootout on Saturday (January 8, 2022) and will take on Homewood-Flossmoor.  

As for the photos, I tried something a little different. I used a 50mm, f1.8 prime lens on a second camera body instead of the usual 24-70mm, f2.8. I wanted to do something different. I don’t think it made any difference. At least know I know.

DePaul Prep Opens Season with 76-18 Win Over Lake View

In the opening game of the 2021 Battle of the Bridge Thanksgiving Tournament, the DePaul Prep Rams defeated the Lake View Wildcats 76-18 at DePaul’s Tom Winiecki Gym on Monday (Nov. 22, 2021) evening.

Opening what feels like a relatively return to normal, the Rams fielded five new starters after their number one ranked finish of the COVID season last spring. Gone were TY Johnson, Rashed Bello, Brian Matthews, Cam Lewis and Jabari Sawyer, not to mention coach Kenny Gryzwa.

That’s not to say we haven’t seen the new starters already. Dylan Arnett, Trevon Thomas, Julian Green and Alex Gutierez all played plenty last year. Plus Payton Kamin and Jaylon McElroy impressed at the R-B Tournament in June. The Rams came into the game #14 in the Sun-Times Super 25, so it’s not like no one had any idea what to expect.

But I was still wondering what we would get. How would they play together? Would the shots fall? Would the punishing trapping defense be there? (TY Johnson and Rashed Bello were beasts on defense.)

What we got was typical opening quarter domination by a Tom Kleinschmidt team. It was 23-7 at the end of the first.

In the second quarter Coach Kleinschimdt put in the second line. This is what impressed me. This is what I didn’t know about. When the new line came in, they dialed up the defense. Jaylon McElroy, Maurice Thomas, PJ Chambers and Ijeg Nwaezapu played defense like their lives depended on it. And scored too.

Something of a signature moment occurred late in the fourth. Granted the game was out-of-hand with the clock running; the Wildcats were struggling. But Junior forward Dane Barkley came to the line. He sunk his first free throw. He put up his second shot; the Lake View players seemed to defer to each other on the rebound. Barkley charged down the lane and grabbed the rebound under the basket. Just pure hustle. He wanted the ball. His head was in the game. It showed me something.

It's gonna be a fun season. And the Rams are in 2A this year. Just saying.

Crete-Monee Defeats St. Ignatius in IHSA 6A Playoff 15-3

St. Ignatius College Prep Wolfpack football team fell to the Crete-Monee High School Warriors on Saturday evening (November 6, 2021) 15-3 at Fornelli Field.

It was the tale of two halves. The Wolfpack played their game in the first half—run the ball and control the clock. But their drives stalled when getting into the red zone because of penalties and they had to settle for just one field goal.

The Warriors just could not get anything going in the first half. They couldn’t throw; they couldn’t run. They got a few first downs be could not move the ball consistently.

Nevertheless, I just had the feeling that either or both teams would break some big plays in the second half.

It was Crete-Monee that made that happen. Midway through the third quarter, one of Crete-Monee’s interchangeable quarterbacks, Joshua Franklin, got free around end down to the St. Ignatius two yard-line. On the next play, one of the other interchangeable quarterbacks, Terry Elias, Jr., took a pitch around the same end and scored the first touchdown of the game. With the PAT, the Warriors took a 7-3 lead.

The Wolfpack had plenty of time to do what they had down all season, control the clock, run the football and take the lead. So they started to do, but again, penalties stalled them. This style doesn’t allow for many possessions.

The quarter came and as the time ticked away, the Wolfpack failed to convert another fourth and long and turned it over on downs to the Warriors at mid-field.

It looked like Crete-Monee would simply just run out the clock.

Joshua Franklin dropped back and hit Junior wide-receiver Lynell Billups on a skinny post. No one was going to catch him.

A palpable gasp came out of the St. Ignatius sideline. The wind came out of sail on St. Ignatius’ historic season. The Warriors added a two-point conversion off a high snap on a kick attempt. The miracle season would soon end.

The 9-2 season for the Wolfpack is their best in decades—many decades. The future lawyers, CEOs, tech moguls, doctors and priests should be proud. Think of the reunions in 30, 40 and 50 years when they can relive their glory days.

Crete-Monee gets Washington next Saturday with a chance to go to Finals in DeKalb.

As for Crete-Monee, after the game their emotional coach John Konecki told his young warriors that they had given body blow after body blow, and then, a knock out punch to the head and they won the game.

“I have never seen a more gutsy performance by any football team ever,” Konecki said.

I have to say I have never seen a happier group of winners than these young men. They came to Chicago and played tough and well. They had prevailed with their brothers and lived to play another game.

Well done.

Not my finest photos ever. But some good ones. Hope you like them.

St. Ignatius Handles Bremen 42-7 in IHSA 6A Playoff

The game ended 42-7 but it was 7-7 with 1:42 left in the first half.

Having seen St. Ignatius play a couple weeks ago, I expected the Wolfpack to be able to deal with Bremen. The Wolfpack are solid in every phase. Before the game, I asked St. Ignatius Coach Bob DeCarlo what to expect. He cautioned that Bremen had improved since the Wolfpack handled them the second game of the season.

The Wolfpack scored on their first possession. Jr. Quarterback Jake Petrow had a 70 yard run. Sr. RB Vinny Rugai finished off the drive with a three yard touchdown.

The rest of the half was just the teams trading field position until the final minutes when Bremen put together a nice drive. Bremen senior running back Keyshawn Lewis-Hunt scored with 1:45 left in the half.

Not over yet. The Wolfpack quickly moved the ball down the field. Sr. wideout Jack Molloy took a handoff around the right end and scored a six yard touchdown with 26 second left making the score 14-7 Wolfpack at the half.

Second half was all St. Ignatius. Vinny Rugai added three more touchdowns. I think it was three. Frankly, I lost track of who scored because I am there to take photos. Just too much to keep score and take photos—in the rain.

The Bremen Braves could not manage much offence against the stingy Wolfpack defense. Midway through the the fourth, the bench players came closing out a high school football for many that will never play another game.

Wolfpack moves on to face the winner of the Crete-Monee v. Glenwood game this afternoon.

I got some good photos that I am happy with given the conditions.

DePaul Prep Shuts Out Payton 49-0

High school football started in more-or-less normal fashion last Friday with a double feature of DePaul College Prep vs Payton College and Lane Tech vs Kenwood at a sunbaked Lane Stadium. The near 100-degree temperatures and 90% humidity tested the stamina of the heartiest football fans. This reporter, for one, was thoroughly cooked by the end of the second game.

Despite the heat, a large crowd saw the Payton College Prep Grizzlies (0-1, 0-0) fall to the DePaul Prep Rams (1-0, 0-0) 49-0.

The Rams took the opening kick-off and methodically moved the ball down the field under the leadership of senior quarterback Chris Perez. A mix of short passes and inside running plays brought the ball down to the one-yard line where senior running back Vasco Sierra took a handoff from Perez right up the middle to give the Rams a 6-0 lead they would never relinquish.

On the next series, the Rams defense held the Grizzlies. Grizzlies punted. DePaul’s junior wide receiver and cornerback Shane Leonard fielded the punt at his own 38-yard line, cut up the left side line, broke a tackle and ran it into the North endzone. With both PATs good, the Rams opened and early first quarter 14-0 lead and never looked back.

Remarkably, the Rams hit seven out of seven extra points. I don’t recall ever seeing that in a high school.

The Rams look to take a leap forward as the program and bring themselves back into the football prominence once enjoyed by its processor Gordon Tech. In recent years, it has been difficult for Gordon Tech/DePaul Prep to achieve beyond Chicago Catholic League Red Division championships. Five wins are needed to qualify for the IHSA playoffs—a difficult task for Rams who have played an almost impossible CCL schedule.

This year may well be different. The CCL has combined with the East Suburban Catholic Conference for football. The Rams will not have to play CCL Blue powerhouses like Loyola, Brother Rice or Mt. Carmel. Conference games for the Rams this year are St. Viator, Leo, St. Laurence, Notre Dame, St. Ignatius and Marian Central Catholic.

“The biggest goal right now is just to get in the the playoffs. If we make the playoffs, we don’t have the multiplier on us so we are playing in 3A. We just came out here and beat a 5A/6A  [team], one of the better CPS schools in the area,” said DePaul head coach Mike Passarella.

Five wins is very doable for DePaul. Once in the playoffs, the Rams can do some damage in the 3A playoffs.

The Payton College Prep Grizzlies struggled against DePaul suffering some injuries during the game and having lost some productive players to graduation.

“We played a really tough team that played well,” said Payton coach Craig Knoche after the game.

“We will find out [what happens with this season] on Monday/Tuesday of next week. We have got to respond to what just happened. They usually respond well.”.

In the second game, home team Lane Tech fall to the Kenwood Academy Broncos 27-9. This much more competitive game saw Lane Tech hang with the Broncos most of the first half.

Lane took an early 3-0 led. The Lane defense impressed with an early goal line stand against a big, fast and athletic Broncos’ offense. Eventually, the Lane defense cracked under the pressure of Kenwood’s speed giving up a long early second quarter touchdown run by the running back Taylen Goodwin.

The Lane offense struggled to move the ball only adding its only touchdown in the fourth quarter bringing the score to 21-9. Kenwood answered with the touchdown making the final score 27-9.

Lane travels to Lansing, Illinois for game against a game against a tough TF South team looking to rebound at home from a shellacking at the hands of Chesterton, Indiana high school.

DePaul Prep Defeats St. Joseph in Last Game

At the strange abrupt end to the COVID football season, I photographed the DePaul Prep Rams football game against the St. Joseph Chargers. It was the last ever football game for St. Joseph High School. The school administration announced earlier that week that the school would close at the end of the school year.

DePaul Prep defeated St. Joseph 44-0, on April 23, 2021. Three early interceptions of St. Joe’s replacement quarterback doomed the Chargers. The Chargers fought hard but the Rams dominated the undermanned Chargers in all phases.

It was an emotional game. I spent a lot of time photographing from the St. Joe’s sideline. I wanted to document the last game as best I could. I have been going to St. Joe’s basketball and football games in 1977 when I was a freshman at St. Viator. Joe’s was in the ESCC then. I distinctly remember Isiah Thomas playing as a senior in St. Viator’s Patrick Cahill Gym when Isiah and legendary coach Joe Pingatore were on their way to a state championship.

Fast forward to recent years when my son Dan played football and basketball at Gordon/DePaul; I have seen many games against St. Joe’s.

It’s always sad when a school closes, especially a Catholic school. I have also liked and respected the people at St. Joseph. I wish them well.

As for the photos, I apologize that it took me so long to get these up. I was writing stories for the Inside Publications in the Spring and I just did not have enough time to do that and photograph non-story games.

A DePaul Prep player inquired about the photos and I realized although I have processed them some time after the game, I never posted them to my website. So here they are better late than never.

I hope you like the photos.

Basketball is Back at the Riverside-Brookfield Shootout

I love the R-B Shootout. Gets me back into basketball. I get to see teams and players I don’t ordinarily see during the season.

The games don’t mean much. One always wants to win but it is more about seeing what teams have and what they lost.

Last year I realized the R-B is not a good time and place for photos. It is more of a place to get to know teams and players. Although I do love the main gym. It has excellent light and lots of space to get a good position.

I took some photos more to capture the atmosphere than game action.

R-B has 56 teams. A mix of traditional powerhouses, teams with standout players and just average teams but more of the former than the latter.

I hesitate to comment upon and evaluate players for want of proper bone fides for such an endeavor. My basketball credentials don’t get much past coaching my son’s grade school basketball team. But I am sticking with my decision to report because more coverage is better than less coverage. (Mike Clark encouraged me. So blame him if I get it all wrong.) So, in the venerable words of the late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, “I know it when I see it.” I can recognize a good player, or maybe just a good play, when I set it. So here goes.

The first game of the day was St. Ignatius vs. Timothy Christian. I wanted to check out Timothy Christian’s 6’8” senior center Ben VanderWal. I also wanted to see how Chicago Catholic League contender and likely top ten team St. Ignatius looks.

VanderWal is the real thing. He has size and length. He can shoot. He plays defense. He will carry Timothy Christian.

St. Ignatius is very good. They move the very well. They make layups. They play defense. It seemed like they are much bigger than last year. Kolby Gilles, Richard Barron and A. J. Redd all looked bigger and faster. I do not remember big junior Jackson Kotecki from last year but I should have. He is the piece that rounds out this group. And they have a player named Emmett O’Shaughnessy. How can one not love that?

Next was Rolling Meadows vs. Ridgewood. I wanted to see Cameron Christie. He didn’t play much so I can’t draw any conclusions. It seemed like Rolling Meadows coach Kevin Katovich wanted to see what the rest of his squad could do. Interestedly, when Christie was in, he brought up the ball like his older brother incoming Michigan State freshman, Max Christie.

Without too much of Christie to be contended with, Coach Chris Mroz’s scrappy Ridgewood squad made a game of it. Tons of effort in this game even without the East Gym packed with college coaches.

Next were the DePaul Prep games. First Oak Forest, then Glenbrook South. Oak Forrest has Robbie Avila. That kid is just big. He he can handle the ball, he can score and he can blot out the sun. But I have to say, DePaul Prep’s Dylan Arnett played him well. I would say Arnett got the better of him.

From the frying pan and into the fire for Arnett. Glenbrook South’s Nick Martinelli followed immediately. It’s no secret to even casual observers that Martinelli is one of the best players in the state but I had never seen him until today. He did not disappoint. Arnett played well but at times, many times, Nick Martinelli could not be denied.

Glenbrook South, last year’s Central Suburban League Champions over Evanston, is a much better team than Oak Forest. Glenbrook South held the young Rams in check. One noticed the absence of DePaul Prep’s scoring machines TY Johnson and Rashid Bello in this game. The Rams stayed close but lost 43-34.

Then Glenbard West vs. St. Rita. I had to see Glenbard West and I wanted to see how the young St. Rita team was coming along.

Glenbard West is the best high school basketball team I have seen in a long time; certainly the biggest. The 1-3-1 zone had St. Rita stymied in the first half. The Mustangs did not score for a long time at the beginning of the game. The Hilltopper’s 6’10” forward Braden Huff has length and nose for the basket. He just took the ball to the hoop. Caden Pierce, Paxton Warden, Bobby Durkin and Ryan Renfro rounding out an all 6’3” or better starting five. Oh, and they are athletic too. Fast. This team has to be a favorite to make it to the 4A finals.  

Then Loyola vs. Bogan. Loyola is always good. Tom Livatino gets a bunch of athletes, coaches them up and turns them into a winning basketball team. Just always expect Loyola to be very good. Nothing different with this group. I don’t think he has any D1 prospects but they will contend for the CCL for sure. As always.

Finally, Joliet West vs. Whitney Young. The last that I saw Whitney Young, TY Johnson put forty points on them and DePaul Prep upset the Dolphins at St. Patrick’s last March in the Chipolte season ending tournament. Coach Slaughter has his team hitting on all cylinders. Just a group of big, fast athletes. They are excellent shooters. Gotta be another favorite to win 4A.

I also learned today that DePaul Prep sophomore coach Sean Connor got the head coaching job at Antioch High School. Sean is a great coach. Seriously, this guy can coach. His teams won the sophomore division of the Chicago Catholic League for, I don’t know how many years in a row, eight, nine? And he won it with the best freshmen and sophomore playing up a lot of the time. Antioch will love Sean. Just a wonderful person. I am happy for him that he will be fifteen minutes away from his home and won’t be so far from his growing family. I am also happy he didn’t land at a Catholic League school.

There you go. I am so happy basketball is on again.

Hope you like the photos.

Loyola defeats Phillips 30-0.

By Jack Lydon

 Lane Tech ran into a COVID hold that cancelled its game against Phillips schedule for Friday, April 16. Phillips coach Troy McAllister didn’t want to lose another chance to play in this abbreviated season. No. 1 ranked Loyola (5-0, 3-0) had a hole it its schedule this weekend.

“Lane cancelled on Phillips. Troy called and asked if we could schedule a game,” Loyola head football coach and former NFL player John Holecek said. Holecek quickly agreed to the unusual late afternoon Friday game for Loyola.

With its big lawn, new parking lot and tennis court, the addition to the football field, Loyola Academy has the feeling of a small college. Loyola Academy is a Chicago Catholic League powerhouse with the number one ranking. Despite being the top football program in the Chicago Public School system, Phillips (3-1, 1-0) had a tall task in front of it.

In another time, this would have been match up for the ages. As it was in August 2017, when Phillips opened its magically state championship season with a 20-14 victory over recent state champion Loyola. Could the Wildcats must the magic this time on Loyola’s home field after all the adversity of the COVID season?

Loyola got the opening kickoff and methodically moved down the field with a conservative and impressive ground attack.

“When you have Vaughn Pemberton running the ball, you can afford be conservative,” Holecek said.

“But we took our shots.”

One such shot was at the end of the Ramblers opening drive. On fourth and four at the Phillips 25-yard line, Loyola’s senior quarterback J. T. Thomas dropped back. Senior wide receiver Perrion Mcclinton ran a post and Thomas hit him at the goal line for the game’s opening score capping a 13 play, 74 yard drive that ate up over half of the first quarter.

Loyola senior kicker Nate Van zelst added an extra point giving the Ramblers a 7-0 lead.

After intercepting a pass, Loyola took over deep in Wildcat’s territory. Ramblers’ senior running back Vaughn Pemberton ran the ball in for a 16-yard touchdown. The Ramblers pushed to lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter.

Phillips was by means out of the game. With 4:18 left in the half, Loyola muffed a punt turning the ball over deep in their own end. The Wildcats moved the ball down to Loyola’s 11-yard line but could not score.

Taking over on downs and continuing their conservative game plan, the Ramblers run out the clock, happy to take the 14-point lead into the locker room.

The third quarter proved to be Phillips breaking point. After Loyola senior running back Aiden Brownlee took a reverse around end for a 26-yard touchdown. Ramblers 21, Wildcats 0.

On the next Phillips possession, the Loyola defense broke the back of the Phillips offense. Ramblers’ defensive from four, seniors Liam Conaghan, Omaru Konneh and Brandan Svets and junior Michael Williams, destroyed Phillips offensive line with three consecutive sacks. Phillips junior quarterback Tyler Turner made a tremendous player to reach the ball out of the endzone while being dragged down to avoid a safety during the third sack.

Loyola added a 39-yard field goal by standout kicker Nate Van zelst and a late touchdown pushing the score to 30-0 sealing the Ramblers victory and improving their record to 5-0 on this strange COVID season.

Loyola standing out running back Vaughn Pemberton summed up the feelings of both teams after the game.

“We don’t take any of these reps for granted. We just go out there and have fun with our brothers. James Kyle [Loyola senior tight end] gets hurt and can’t play. We all wrote [Kyle’s number] 81 on our wrists. I just appreciate it. I am just happy to be out here,” Pemberton said.

Loyola will face CCL/ESCC rival #5 Marist Redhawks at Marist for the championship of the combined leagues’ Blue Division championship.

Hope you like the photos.

DePaul Prep Opens New Football Stadium. Rams fall to Marian Catholic 27-20

I didn’t realize what a football, soccer and lacrosse stadium can mean to as school. It is literally the front yard of the new DePaul Prep campus.

The Rams had their first football game at the new stadium last week on Holy Thursday. The team has improved. The kids have bought in. They were driving for a tying touchdown with a minute to go but came up short 27-20 against Marian.

I have no doubt that the Rams will be back in the Gordon Tech type football glory in years to come.

These are the photos. I hope you like them.

DePaul Prep Wins Chipotle Clash of Champions with Win 51-36 over Evanston

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the Evanston Wildkits 51-36 to win the Chipotle Clash of Champions. Michael O’Brien and the Chicago Sun-Times has the Rams ranked #1—the best high school basketball in Northern Illinois.

I will do a story about the game for Inside Publications and publish it here as well later in the week.

I hope you like the photos. Not my best work but never enjoyed a game more.

Rams 60, Montini 39

The now fifth ranked DePaul Prep Rams traveled to Lombard this morning for a rescheduled game against Montini and defeated the Broncos 60-39.

DePaul plays Loyola Academy tomorrow at home at 7:00. I don’t write much ahead of the Loyola game.

I hope you like today’s photos.

DePaul Prep Defeated Providence Catholic 55-38

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the Providence Catholic Celtics 55-38 last night (Feb. 24) at the Tom Winiecki Gym.

TY Johnson was honored before the game for scoring his 1,000 point as a varsity player in the first game of the year against St. Joseph.

Today was my day for getting photos of the coaches and of blocked shots.

I hope you like the photos.