Basketball Season is Here

Basketball is here. From now until the state finals on March 16th next year, we’ll have four and a half months of tournaments, high-profile shootouts, league play, non-conference matchups and basically just fun and excitement.

This year is a little different than most. I do most more my shooting and coverage of the DePaul Prep Rams who are coming off a 2A state championship. This is new for me. No team that I have ever regularly covered or even been a fan of has won a state championship.

What makes this really interesting is that the Rams haven’t should still be very good. Gone are Maurice Thomas and Payton Kamin. But Rob Walls and Jonas Johnson both of whom had championship experience should fill in nicely.

And the other team I cover often, the Lane Tech Champions, look to have their best season in a long time. Led by Shaheed Solebo and junior power forward Dalton Scantlebury, the Champions and their coach Nick LoGalbo are ranked #20 in the Sun-Times Super 25. The expectations are high for the Champions.

We will get an early chance to figure out the Champions. They will face good teams in Niles North and either DePaul Prep or Notre Dame in the Battle of the Bridge, the Thanksgiving tournament hosted by Lane and DePaul Prep. Maybe this will be their year to take home a win in the tournament.

The Battle of the Bridge Tournament dates back to 2014, the first season after Gordon Tech changed its name to DePaul Prep. I could only find the results of the Battle of the Bridge going back to 2018. The 8 to 18 website is offline after its purchase by another company so the old Gordon Tech records are only longer easily available.

So here we go. Enjoy. It goes by fast.

DeLaSalle Defeats St. Viator in 29-23 in Season Opener

The Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic Conference reshuffled the divisions this year. DeLaSalle and Marian Catholic were moved from the Purple Division into the Red Division. I wanted to get a look at DeLaSalle who I haven’t seen in a couple years so I can see what the Red will be dealing with.

And of course I wanted to see St. Viator—the mighty mighty Lions! My beloved alma matter.

I will spare you the blow-by-blow. Let’s just say it was sloppy first half for both teams. DeLaSalle lead 14-7 at the half.

The second have was better but St. Viator’s play calling left something to be desired. In the fourth quarter the Lions started running between the tackles and finally met with some success. St. Viator scored.

St. Viator scored again but missed the extra point. 20-14 Lions.

With 9:03 left in the 4th, DeLaSalle’s talented sophomore quarterback scored on a keeper from the five. The extra point was good. 21-10 DeLaSalle.

Cooper Kmet, Cole’s younger brother, put together a nice drive for the St. Viator moving the Lions down to the DeLaSalle 23 yard line. St. Viator’s Gabe Glodz put in a 30 yard field goal with 3:28 to play to lift the Lions to a 23-21.

The Meteors had the ball and chance to will. Lewis took them down the field moving backwards and forwards. A long pass to the goal line and a keeper for the touchdown. Then a two-point conversion and the Lions fell to the Meteors 29-23.

DeLaSalle has loads of talent. The Red is well advised to take notice.

DePaul Prep Baseball is Going to State; 13-3 Victory over Byron

The DePaul Prep Rams (23-14, 8-8) landed in Rockford for the IHSA 2A baseball super-sectional against the Byron Tigers. The convincing 13-3 win sends the Rams to the State Finals in Peoria this coming weekend.

Before, during and after the game, the Rams were loose. Didn’t seem like a super-sectional. Just like another game. Just fun to play baseball. Not so much for Sam Colon, the Rams’ first-year manager. His normal easy going demeanor seemed a bit more focused, serious, businesslike.

And land on the Byron Tigers the Rams did with four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Byron rallied with three in the top of the second. That’s about as good as they had. The Rams just put it on them after that. Three in the bottom of the second. Another in the fourth. Three more in the fifth and two in the bottom of the sixth for a walk off ten run slaughter rule victory.

Senior pitcher, the always focused and businesslike Robert Rivera pitched well. Rivera struggled in the top of the second. A balk with nobody out and men on first and third scored the Tigers’ A. Lorenz from third.

“I just thought shake it off. Being the pitcher on the mound, you’re the leader. I have hold my composure and show everyone it’s not going to phase me. Even letting in those three runs, I knew I could fight back,” Rams’ pitcher Robert Rivera said.

“I changed up my mechanics. I went to stay closed longer. I started leaning more toward the plate. It helped me control my curveball. It really upped my [velocity] on my fastball too.”

The three runs in the top of the second were the only runs he would allow.

At bat, the whole team contributed--total team victory. Michigan commit and the fastest man on the field, AJ Garcia had a hit, a stolen base and two walks scoring three runs. Vance Kurakowa had a hit and run scored. Catcher Oliver Vigerust was hit by a pitch, had a hit and a base-on-balls. First baseman Kevin O’Connor had a huge game with three hits, two RBI’s and a walk. Griffin Horne had a hit and scored two runs. Beni Espinosa had three hits, four RBI’s, scored two runs and a walk. Third baseman Cameron Klein three hits and an RBI. Carter Levine two hits and three RBI’s, not to mention a spectacular diving catch in right field. Addison Latko had two hits, including a legged out triple and gapper in right center, and scored a run, but no homeruns today.

As hurtful as the super-sectional loss to Byron by the DePaul Prep womens’ basketball team was in March, this emotional super-sectional victory for the Rams took some of the sting out of it.

“I told Sarah [Zarymbski, girls basketball coach and 2014 Gordon Tech classmate of the Sam Colon] that we would get some revenge for her,” Rams head coach Sam Colon said after the game.   

“This team has got all the talent in the world. It’s a matter of can you put it all together in a year. Our first goal was to win the [Chicago Catholic] League [White]; we put ourselves in a position to get there. We didn’t get there. The next goal was to get a second season. The expectation was to get to Peoria. Now it’s to win it.”

It’s third trip to State for the Rams so far this year. Mitch Baum’s boys’ cross-country team won a state title in November. Tom Kleinschmidt’s boys’ basketball team won the 2A basketball state title in March. Now it’s Sammy’s turn.

The Rams will face the Columbia High School Eagles (30-4), from south of St. Louis, at the Peoria Chiefs’ stadium, Dozer Park, on Friday at 3:00 p.m. The other state semi-final will feature Joliet Catholic v. Quincy Notre Dame. The Championship game will be Saturday at 5:30.

DePaul Prep Defeats St. Ignatius 6-2

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the St. Ignatius Wolfpack 6-2 at the brand new baseball field at Rice Park in a Chicago Catholic League showdown.

“We’ve been talking about it the last two weeks. We’ve got to produce with runners in scoring position. We have struggled a little bit with that,” said Rams’ manager Sam Colon.

Up 3-0 in the top of the fourth, with two down and two strikes on him, freshman catcher and left fielder Addison Latko rifled a shot between third base and the third baseman. Oliver Vigerust, Kevin O’Connor and AJ Garcia came around to score putting the Rams up 6-0.

“That was big time for the freshman for sure,” continued Colon.

DePaul’s senior pitcher Dylan Kaminski (3-0) continued his dominance only giving up two hits and no runs through five innings. However, with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, up by six runs, Kaminski found a little trouble.

Kaminski gave up a sharpe single to center, then a walk, then another single on a ground ball to left. A throwing error allowed a run in, then another run scored when no one covered home on the throwing error.

That was that. The next batter popped up and the inning was over with two Wolves left on base.

Dylan set down the next Wolves from the Pack in order in the bottom of the seventh for a complete game Rams’ victory.

Rams move on to face Harvest Christian tomorrow and then start an important two game set against Montini.

DePaul Prep v. St. Rita

41 degrees is about as cold as I can take when photographing a baseball game.

The DePaul Prep Rams faced the St. Rita Mustangs at Kerry Wood Field to open Chicago Catholic League conference play.

I left after the fourth inning when the Rams were down 6-2. Other things to do unfortunately so I don’t know who won the game.

I am getting back into the swing of shooting baseball. I did not have my 300mm lens with me so these were taken from some weird angles from behind the screen. I had the GoPro going so I will get that video up soon also.

DePaul Prep Advanced to 2A State Championship Game with 45-17 Defensive Gem over Teutopolis

The DePaul Prep Rams are peaking at the best time of the season. They handled the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes 45-17 in the IHSA 2A semi-final in Champaign. I was told that 17 points is the lowest point total in IHSA playoff history. Teutopolis struggled to even get shots up. This was probably the Rams best performance of the year.

The Rams difficulties in the Chicago Catholic League, going 6-7 in the Blue, were clearly frustrating, even disconcerting, for the Rams and their fans.

“We got the injuries when we had Rita, Mount Carmel and DeLaSalle so we took our lumps early,” said DePaul head coach Tom Kleinschmidt. “But we learned from that. And now we are a little bit seasoned.”

Advancing in such dominant fashion to the state championship game must be satisfying, even vindicating, for the Rams. But even more than that, the Rams and their coach Tom Kleinschmidt clearly want it. They are driven to get this championship.

The defensive effort of the Rams, particularly in the second half, was something really special--truly a historic defensive effort. Teutopolis did not score in the fourth quarter. Their seventh and final point came midway through the third quarter.

“We executed our game plan. We fronted the post on the big. We wanted to turn them into passers with back side help. We shaded [Teutopolis’s Brayden Niebrugge and Garrett Gaddis]. We wanted to make the other guys score on us. [Teutopolis’s James Niebrugge, Brayden’s cousin] hurt us,” Kleinschmidt continued.

“We wanted to run that clock in the fourth quarter. So we called a longer set. We wanted to take a minute and a half [off the clock with every possession] and have them chase us. We wanted to wear them down where they had to chase and foul. And then we could do what we did, flash and get back door cuts.”

DePaul’s senior guard Maurice Thomas nearly beat Teutopolis himself with sixteen points. Junior forward Jaylan McElroy had ten points. PJ Chambers with seven. Payton Kamin with six. Jonas Johnson and Henry West each with exclamation point buckets at the end. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention senior Dane Barkley’s beautiful no look assist to Henry West with 1:12 left.

The Rams advance to face the Bloomington Central Catholic Saints on Saturday in the 2A state championship game at 12:45.

Be careful what you wish for. Bloomington Central Catholic defeated Rockridge 57-44 in the other semi-final. The Saints have Cole Certa. Certa finished with nineteen points, sixteen of which came in the second half. If you have not heard of Certa, you soon will. The heavily recruited junior guard is the third highest rated 2024 prospect in Illinois behind only St. Rita’s Morez Johnson and James Brown.

Stay tuned. The Rams will have to duplicate, or maybe improve their defensive effort to bring home the school’s first basketball state championship.

DePaul Prep Handles Clark 62-42 in 2A Sectional Semi-final

The DePaul Prep Rams (19-12) defeated the Michele Clark Eagles (19-7) 62-42 Wednesday evening in the 2A Christ the King sectional semi-final.

It was so nice to see Payton Kamin and Jaylan McElroy playing at a high level again. The Rams meshed into the team we hoped we would see when the season started. The injuries to Payton and Jaylan put all that on hold. Until tonight.

Payton had twelve of his twenty-eight points in the first quarter. The Rams really needed that. Getting down in the first quarter hasn’t work out well in recent games. Tom Kleinschmidt teams always play better with a lead. I suppose all teams do. I just mean that I cannot recall the Rams blowing a lead of eight or ten points. And I have seen most of the Gordon Tech/DePaul Prep games since 2013 or so.

Jaylan MeElroy was back too. I had him with eleven points. I don’t know how many rebounds but it was a lot. He was a presence in the lane on defense. Again, I don’t know how many blocks but a good number. A really nice job.

Terry Head’s Clark Eagles are good. Senior Cordy Johnson is a force and not afraid to drive the lane into Jaylan McElroy. The Eagles were taking it to the Rams in first quarter. The Rams were in the bonus not too long into the first quarter. Five of the Rams’ sixteen first quarter points were from free throws. No one is going to out physical the Rams; not with McElroy and Kamin back in the lineup. Such a strategy just sends them to the line. Usually not a good idea.

Ultimately, it was Payton Kamin’s emergence as a dominate scorer that buried the Eagles. Kamin’s twenty-eight on top of the usual production from Reece Thomas, PJ Chambers and Makai Kvamme worked out well. Sophomore point guard Makai Kvamme’s performance deserves a mention. Although Kvamme didn’t lead the scoring he reliably brought up the ball against the Eagles determined full court pressure. He gets better every game.

Eight fourth quarter free throws from Kamin didn’t really seal the victory; the game was mostly decided by the Rams’ third quarter defense. But Kamin’s free throws just took the life out of the Eagles. And it pushed the Rams lead to twenty points.

The Rams face North Lawndale (15-11) on Friday for the sectional championship. The North Lawndale coaches in attendance got a look at a Rams team they might not have expected to be back at full force. The only common opponent for the Rams and Phoenix is Clark. North Lawndale defeated Clark 61-55 in December.

Nice to be playing one’s best basketball going into the sectional championship.

See you Friday.

DePaul Prep Rams Defeat Leo Lions 14-12

The DePaul Prep Rams edged the Leo High School 14-12 on September 16, 2022, to improve to 3-1 and win the two team CCL/ESCC Red Division. A nice win for the Rams against a very tough Leo team with a lot of heart.

DePaul Prep Comes Back to Defeat Payton 42-21

{Preview of my story in Inside Publications)

Sloppy but effective. The DePaul Prep Rams came back from an early 14-0 deficit against the Payton College Prep to defeat the Grizzlies 42-21 at DePaul Friday evening’s season opener.

The Rams did not play well in the first half. The Grizzles did.

DePaul sophomore quarterback Fernando “JuJu” Rodriguez was picked off on a late throw down the middle early in the first quarter. After the interception and a couple Rams penalties, the Grizzlies scored on a nineteen-yard screen pass.

The ensuing kickoff was thing of beauty. The Payton kicker popped the ball up to the Rams twenty-yard line. The ball hit the field turf and bounced back like a punt. Rams returner Lavelle Hardy had no change. Payton sophomore Steveon Bynum recovered the ball.

On the next play, Payton quarterback Kyle Osterman laid out a beautiful fade pass to sophomore wide receiver Finn Ryan at the goal line for a twenty-two-yard touchdown. Just that fast, Payton was up 14-0 and was rolling.

DePaul moved the ball but just could not get in sync. With 1:35 left in the first half, the Rams rallied. JuJu Rodriguez hit standout junior wide receiver Lavelle Hardy on a skinny post. Hardy did the rest, running it in from 55 yard out.

With an onside kick of their own, DePaul’s junior linebacker Danny Kelly recovered the ball. JuJu hit junior wide receiver Michael Bloom in the endzone to tie the game. The Rams were back in it despite looking terrible in the first half.

Not halftime yet.

On the last play of the half, Osterman launched the ball up the visitor sideline to, as Payton head coach Craig Knocke described as, “the only D-1 player on our team,” Columbia commit Charlie Newton. Newton split two defenders, comes down with the ball, broke a couple tackles and score as time runs out. 21-14 Payton at the half.

Reset.

“At halftime we talked. We talked. We calmed down. A lot of guys had some first game jitters. A lot of guy were starting for the first time. We had some sophomores out there. You could see it in the kids eyes. There were some heart beats going. There was some nervousness. We calmed down and you saw the real football team in the second half,” said DePaul Prep head coach Mike Passarella.

The Rams may have calmed down but in the third quarter, the Grizzlies cramped up. “A lot of cramps, not very many injuries, a lot of cramps,” said third year Payton head coach Craig Knoche.

“We can’t mimic a game in practice. We don’t have enough people to hit. This is all four classes. We have freshmen through seniors here.”

Between the cramps and the numerous penalties, the third quarter took time. Time the Rams coaching staff used to wear down the Grizzlies.

“If you look back at the first half we beat ourselves,” explained Ram coach Passarella.

In the second half, “we knew they had a bunch of guys playing both ways. We knew we had them gassed. They started pinching the middle. That’s when we started taking advantage” by running wide.

With the ugly third quarter almost done, the Rams moved the ball behind work horse running back junior Titus Bautista down to the five-yard line. JuJu tossed a perfect quick slant to senior wide receiver (and basketball forward) Henry West to bring the Rams to within one. The PAT tied it up at 21.

Third quarter was not over yet.

The Rams pulled off an onside kick of their own. A similar putsch kick halfway up the home sideline. Rams’ junior linebacker Griffin Horne came up with the ball. The Rams were in business. From the fifteen, Henry West ran a quick out. JuJu’s throw was perfect. The first year football player West had his second touchdown in 15 ticks off the clock to put the Rams in the lead for good.

The Payton Grizzlies look to be the favorite in the reshuffled CPS Red-West conference. Coming off last year’s 6-4 record and an IHSA playoff appearance, Coach Knoche’s Grizzlies looked every bit the part to open the season even with mostly all new starters. Perhaps a little undermanned but their starting group can play.

The Rams face Amundsen next Friday afternoon at Winnemac Park. Payton takes on Von Stueben at Lane on Friday afternoon as well

DePaul Prep Rams Ready Open Season

“Last year, we didn’t know how to win yet,” said fourth year DePaul Prep head football coach Mike Passarella.

 “Not a push over anymore,” Passarella continued. “Everyone is taking us seriously this year.”

 The DePaul Prep Rams are coming off a disappointing 2-7 season after being on the cusp of turning around the program.

“The goal is to win a playoff game,” Passarella said. That will take at least three more wins. Those wins are out there. Since the closing of St. Joseph, DePaul Prep has played three non-conference games instead of the usual two games to open the season. The Rams have added Chicago Hope Academy this year. Chicago Hope could be another win. And with a victory of over Marian Central Catholic, plus an upset victory over the “mighty, mighty” St. Viator Lions (a play on the St. Viator fight song) and with the strength of schedule points and our Rams probably make the playoffs.

The Rams schedule has changed significantly. Ridgewood and Lena-Winslow are out. Amundsen and Chicago Hope Academy are in. Plus, this year there are only two teams in the CCL/ESCC conference’s Red Division—DePaul Prep and Leo. Marian Central Catholic in Woodstock left the conference and went independent but remains on the schedule.

Circle September 16th on your calendar. The Rams take on the Leo Lions for the CCL/ESCC Red Division championship game. With just two teams in the division, this game will decide who’s champ. Leo and DePaul Prep are developing quite a rivalry in the recent months. DePaul Prep defeated Leo in the 2A basketball super-sectional to earn a trip to Champaign for the 2A state basketball finals.

The future is definitely bright for the DePaul Prep’s football program. The school’s enrollment has just dramatically increased in recent years. This year’s enrollment is up to 1086. With construction of a new wing of classrooms beginning shortly on the campus, enrollment is expected to top out at 1400, roughly the same as St. Ignatius. The Rams are currently 3A for football but an enrollment of 1200 will soon put bump DePaul Prep up two classes into 5A.

Along with the jump in enrollment comes a whole new crop of athletes. The Rams plan the start a sophomore quarterback, Fernando “JuJu” Rodriguez. Also, on offense is senior offensive lineman Emmett Jeske, son of former head coach and Gordon Tech legend, Bill Jeske. Junior offensive tackle Eric Timbo is expected to impress and land some offers from NCAA Division One schools.

At the skill positions, junior wide receiver Lavelle Hardy returns to lead the receiving corps. Hardy is also expected to receive Division One offers and score a lot of touchdowns. Senior wide receiver (and varsity basketball player) Henry West, in his first year of football, will also play wide out. Senior Shane Leonard will also play in Coach Passarella’s receiver heavy spread offense spread offense.

Gordon Tech legend Gary Anish, Jr., has been elevated to defensive coordinator. His defense will be led by senior defensive ends Oliver Vigorest and Dane Barkley (also a basketball player). Defensive standouts junior middle linebacker Griffin Horne and Danny Kelly as well has junior cornerback Jonathan Perez will lead a young and talented defense.

The season starts tomorrow at 7:00 p.m., with a home game against Walter Payton College Prep. Should be a fun game between two teams on the rise.

DePaul Prep Rams practice read option Wednesday at DePaul Prep

DePaul Prep Falls to Timothy Christian 4-3

The DePaul Prep Rams fell to Timothy Christian 4-3 in twelve innings Monday evening in the 2A IHSA Regional Final. I am not sure I have seen a more exciting high school game. Back and forth. Extra base hits. Plays at the plate. Runs out stealing. Even a runner was hit by a batted ball—Haas was not happy.

The Rams scored in the top of the seventh to tie and then held the Trojans scoreless in the bottom of the frame to force extra innings.

Ultimately, the Rams fell in the bottom of the twelve innings. It was a great game in front of a big crowd. The Rams left it all on the field.

I wish I could give it the full treatment but just wasn’t set up to write a story about the game. I had spent the day at Wrigley for the Lane City Championship game. You will just have to settle for the photos.

Great job Rams!

St. Ignatius Falls to Sacred Heart Griffin 50-39 in IHSA 3A Semi

The St. Ignatius Wolfpack fell to Springfield’s Sacred Heart-Griffin 50-39 in the IHSA 3A Semi-final. The Wolfpack hung around all game but SHG proved a little too much in the end. Richard Barron’s injury hurt the Wolfpack. A.J. Redd’s 14 points lead St. Ignatius.

That was tough but then the Wolfpack drew Simeon after Metamora upset of the Wolverines in the following semi.

I wish I could have staying in Champaign for that third place game. The Wolfpack come up with 61-59 victory over Simeon. The IHSA didn’t even post the box score. I will have to look it up on You Tube.

Here are the photos from the Sacred Heart-Griffin game.

DePaul Prep Wins IHSA 2A Third Place

The Nashville Hornets (28-4) defeated the DePaul Prep Rams (26-6) in double overtime in the IHSA 2A Semi-final in Champaign Thursday afternoon. The Rams rallied to defeat Rockridge Rockets 41-22 in the third-place game.

 The Nashville/DePaul Prep game was a defensive battle of historic proportions. Reputed to be the lowest scoring game in IHSA finals history. It was the Rams lowest point total of the season.

 The Nashville Hornets from far southern Illinois, about fifty-five miles east of St. Louis, play defense. Hornets’ coach Patrick Weathers described their style of basketball as “winning ugly.”

 “[DePaul Prep] executes very differently than a lot of teams in the City. I think that help us. We are not built for a track meet. When they want to keep the game in the thirties and forties, and we don’t have to score fifty or sixty points to win the game that is an advantage for us. It gives us a change. Keep the game close at the end and give ourselves a chance to will at the end, that’s all we can ask for,” Coach Weathers said.

 Nashville’s defense was remarkable. The double overtime game was the equivalent of five eight-minute quarters. The Hornets held the Rams to five points in the final two quarters combined.

 Even more remarkable is that the Hornets five starters played the entire game and two overtime periods. There were no substitutions. The same five players Saxton Hoepker, Kilton Gajewski, Carter Schoenherr, Holan Heggemeier and Isaac Turner played the whole game at a historic defensive level. 

 “It’s obvious. We didn’t shoot well. We didn’t score. We took them out of a lot of things. At the end of the game . . . We didn’t get some loose balls. There were two offensive rebounds we did not come up with. There were just a little quicker to the ball late and they made plays. It was a battle. All the credit goes to Nashville. Really well coached team. Kids really play well together,” DePaul Prep Coach Tom Kleinschmidt said after the game.  

 If there is a good part about losing in a semi-final, it’s that one gets to play in a third-place game with a chance to go out a winner. The DePaul Prep Rams did that in the last state 3A finals in 2019. They lost to Bogan in the semi but won third-place against Peoria Manual.

 This year, the Rams drew Rockridge (26-8) from Taylor Ridge, Illinois, a few miles west of Moline, in the third-place game. Rockridge lost in the first game to Monticello.

 The Rams and Rockets traded buckets in the first quarter but in the second, the Rams edged ahead with points off the bench from Maurice Thomas.

 The third quarter proved the difference. An 8-2 run in the third put the Rams ahead for good as they inexorably extended their lead to a 41 to 24 final score to win third place in the state in state for the second time in three tries.

 Does winning third place take the sting out of losing in the semi?

 “Well, ya. The kids went out winners. [They can say] their last game was a win. We set a school record for wins. For this group to be around for two trips downstate and last year’s number one ranking, that’s a hell of a three years,” Kleinschmidt said.

 Dylan Arnett lead the scoring for the Rams with ten points. Every Ram played. Junior Maurice Thomas had 7. Sophomores starters Payton Kamin and Jaylan McElroy each had 6. Senior Will Brown had 5, including a big three early to open the scoring for the Rams. Henry West had 3 points. Seniors Julian Green Trevon Thomas had 2 each.

 Only three months until the Riverside-Brookfield Summer Tournament.

DePaul Prep Going Downstate after 50-43 Victory over Leo

The DePaul Prep Rams (25-5) defeated the Leo Lions (25-5) 50-43 in overtime at Joliet Central High School on Monday evening to punch their ticket to the IHSA 2A State Finals starting Thursday.

The Rams graduated all five seniors after last year’s COVID season that saw the Rams end the season ranking #1. That meant five new starters including two sophomores, Jaylan McElroy and Payton Kamin, that would lead this year’s Rams. It was those sophomores that stepped up when it counted in overtime against 6th ranked Chicago Catholic League champs Leo to send the Rams to Champaign.

Leo came out of the gate in the first quarter hitting on all cylinders. Their full court press stymied the Rams forcing turnover that turned into points. Leo star player Cam Cleveland hit outside shots. The Lions crashed the boards. It was all Leo, in all phases. 22-7 at the end of the first quarter.

That’s actually been a thing lately. Orr had a lead. Clark had a lead. The Rams have just been starting slow.  

But star they did. A quick three to open the second quarter and it continued. The Rams outscored Leo 14-5 in second quarter making it 27-21 Leo at the half. It had turned into a game, anybody’s to win.

 It was the third quarter that turned the game around. The Rams turned up the defense, cut down on the turnovers and hit shots outscoring the Lions 12 to 3 in the third going into the fourth quarter with a 33-30 lead.

 When the Rams get a lead, even a small one, they are tough to overcome. But the sixth ranked Lions are no ordinary team. The Lions rallied, tying the score at 39 with 1:09 to play.

DePaul Prep’s star center Dylan Arnett picks up two questionable charging calls in quick succession and fouled out.

“That’s the first time I have fouled out this year,” Dylan Arnett said.

“You can’t really argue with the refs. If they make the call, they make the call. You just have to dial back the aggressiveness a little bit and play as hard as you can.”

“When Dylan fouled out, I just knew I had to rebound and box out and help my team win,” DePaul Prep sophomore Payton Kamin said.

McElroy too was matter of fact about the end of the game. When Dylan fouled out, “I had no other choice. It was either that or go home. I choose to stay,” said McElroy.

1:09 to play, tied at 39 and Leo had the ball.

DePaul’s senior guard Julian Green came back in for Arnett. This was the time for the sophomores to step up. 6’9” sophomore Payton Kamin moved down low on boards to fill-in for Arnett. The Rams defense held. The Lions failed to get up a shot to win the game.

Overtime.

Five straight points from Jaylan McElroy—including a huge breakaway dunk—to open the four-minute overtime put the Rams ahead for good.

The “hail mary” pass off the inbound was a designed inbound play. “Coach wrote it up perfectly for me to go down there and get it. I just got it,” McElroy said.

The sophomores picked up their team. They did what needed to be done. They lived up to standards set by last year’s five seniors that won it all.

How did they do it?

“Defense. We gave up twenty-eight points in the first half. We give up thirty-three a game. We gave up three in the third quarter and then we got on the glass,” DePaul Prep coach Tom Kleinschmidt said after the game.

“As bad as we played in the first half, we missed six or seven free throws. If we make half of those, it’s a three-point game. We went in the locker room happy down six nothing.”

 “A big part of it was our two sophomores Jaylan and PK. They did a great job on the boards being really physical. They really stepped up today.”

Next will be Nashville at 4:00 p.m., on Thursday in State Finals at the University of Illinois’ State Farm Center in Champaign.

“I haven’t thought about [where we go from here]. We will find out who we are playing. We have tape on everybody. We will go home tonight and cut it up. And then we will have a good game plan tomorrow and practice. Then walk through and then we will go,” Kleinschmidt said after winning the Super-sectional.

“Thirty-two years ago, I was down there playing as a junior so I am looking forward to that.”

DePaul Prep Drops Latin 58-30 for Seventh Straight Regional

Electricity was in air in the Tom Winiecki Gym on Friday night. There was a large crowd, an overflow student second curiously attired in beach wear.

Latin didn’t get the memo. Teams like this always worry me. I remember a couple losses to Francis Parker in years past. I hoped it would not all go horrible wrong after such a successful 23-5 season.

Tom Kleinschmidt wrote the memo so he wouldn’t let anything go wrong.

The Romans came out with a ton of energy. They have some athletes who scored early. The Rams length on defense proved difficult for the undersized Romans to overcome. The Rams opened an early lead that just widened as the clock ticked off.

DePaul Prep has won regional championship for the last seven year: 2015 over North Chicago, 2016 over Northridge Prep, 2017 over Latin, 2018 over Foreman, 2019 over Ridgewood, 2020 over Farragut and this year over Latin again. This is a testament to the successful program the school and its coaches have built.

Now we are talking about sectional wins not just regionals. And talking about the state tournament. Which brings us to the upcoming games. The Rams will have to get through the best 2A teams in the state to get back downstate—Orr, Clark and Leo. If they can do that, they will deserve to be state champs.

One at a time. Orr on Tuesday at Collins (North Lawndale Sectional). 7:00 p.m. The light in that gym is miserable.

I went a little crazy taking pictures on Friday. I processed like a hundred photos. These are the game photos. I will have to do a post for the rest of the photos, which frankly are better than these.

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.