Notre Dame Defeats DePaul Prep 65-60 to 2019 Win Battle of the Bridge

In the first big game of the year for Notre Dame and DePaul Prep, the Dons edged the Rams 65-60 to win the Battle of the Bridge Friday evening. A full house at DePaul’s Tom Winiecki Gym hosted this rematch from of last year’s semi-final.

The first half was mostly even. The Dons got out to small lead in the first quarter but gave up points in transition off missed shots. The Rams drew even at the end of the second quarter. It was tie at 24 at the half.

In the third quarter, Notre Dame’s shooting improved and the Dons opened an eight point lead. The Rams came charging back early in the fourth Quarter, but three consecutive three point shots extended the Don’s lead. The Rams could not make up the difference in the time allotted. Perhaps a playoff rematch in March is in our future.

The Dons are every bit as good as expected. Louis Lesmond shined scoring 22 points including a couple monster dunks. Sayles, D’Amico, Murphy and Bergstrom also played well. The Dons will win many games this year. Benet and Marian Catholic will have their hands full in the ESCC.

Four games into the 2019/2020 basketball season, I am not the least bit disappointed. Tom Kleinschmidt has his Rams prepared to play. They are quick and confident. Junior Tyler Johnson has stepped up as the leader and scorer. Lance Mosley is hitting threes and playing fabulous defense. Brian Matthews is manning the boards and scoring inside. Rasheed Bello is as good as advertised. Cam Lewis contributes in all phases. JD Shower is solid and a great contributor off the bench. The Rams move the ball around the floor almost too fast to follow. It’s going to be fun to watch these kid Rams.

DePaul Prep Drops Niles North 65-54

DePaul Prep defeated Niles North 65-54 on Wednesday to advance to face Notre Dame the championship game of the 2019 Battle of the Bridge tonight at 7:00 p.m., at DePaul’s Tom Winicki Gym.

This was an exciting game from the outset. The Rams jumped out to a 20-6 first quarter lead. The Rams got every single rebound offensive and defensive. Okay, maybe not every one but it sure seemed like it. They would get the rebound and dish it out quickly for easy points in transition. The Vikings could not hit a shot.

It was a tale of two halves. The Vikings came out from halftime down 35-18 but East Tennessee State commit Aquan Smart was determined to get his team back in the game. That he did. Smart scored 27 of this 30 points in the third quarter bring the Vikings almost all the way back. At a point early in the fourth quarter the Rams only had a 5 point lead.

It was not to be—a successful comeback. I cannot remember a Tom Kleinschmidt team blowing a big lead. They are just too well coached. The Rams made their layups and free throws at the end and keep their lead, winning 65-54.

The Rams advance to the second big test of the early season with the Battle of the Bridge championship game against #7 ranked Notre Dame coming up here in a couple hours.

The Notre Dame Dons are an excellent team. Troy D’Amico and Anthony Sales are a year older and stronger. And then, top area prospect junior Louis Lesmond transferred to Notre Dame from Evanston. Kevin Clancy and Shay Boyle have the Dons primed and ready to dominate the ESCC and make a deep run in the playoffs. Oh, and did I mention that they are in 3A year? The Dons are right there behind Morgan Park as favorites in 3A. I will get my first look at them this season tonight at 7:00 p.m., in the DePaul’s Tom Winicki Gym, come out and join us for a early season matchup between two top 3A teams.

DePaul Prep Handles Vocational 62-46 and Look Ahead

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the Chicago Vocational Career Academy 64-46 in the Battle of the Bridge Thanksgiving Tournament.

The Rams jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Rams defense simply stifled the CVS’s scoring attempts and and turned around and scored layups in transition. It was 20 to 6 and at the end of the first quarter and 43 to 18 at the half.  Rams’ Jr. guard Tyler Johnson finished with eighteen points. Center Brian Matthews had 13. Brian is playing with confidence and he is scoring. Lance Mosley had seven points.

Last year I wrote a season preview so I thought I should again. I am a little late with the Rams having already played two games but I thought I might offer some thoughts anyway.

Last year I wrote, “The Rams are also seen by many observers as among the top teams in 3A with Morgan Park, Bogan, St. Viator and St. Rita. So the expectations are high for a deep run into the IHSA 3A playoffs.” The Rams did not disappoint. They won the Grayslake Sectional over a very good St. Viator team. The Super-sectional game never happened because of a fight in the sectional championship between Farragut and North Lawndale. After falling to Bogan in the 3A semi-final, the Rams won the 3A Third Place last March over Peoria Manual.

In the words of Joe Henricksen, “Under Tom Kleinschmidt, DePaul Prep has arrived as a full-fledged, legitimate basketball program in Illinois.” Last year’s success made believers of Joe Henricksen and the Sun-Times reporter Michael O’Brien. The Rams look to take the next step from upstart to perennial powerhouse.

A look ahead at this year’s schedule has some opportunities for the Rams to pile up wins. The Chicago Catholic League poses its usual problems, Fenwick, Loyola, St. Joseph. I don’t know what to expect out of Br. Rice and St. Laurence with their two stars graduated or transferred. I would say the Catholic League Blue is wide open and the Rams have as good a chance as anybody.

The second major tournament is the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic. This will be the Rams third year in Hinsdale for Christmas week. Hinsdale has a number of ranked teams including Marian Catholic, Stevenson, Homewood-Flossmoor, Westinghouse and CCL rival St. Rita. The Rams could make a run at this title. It would be difficult and would require some good fortune but they could win.

The Second Annual Steve Pappas Shootout brings Deerfield to the Tom Winicki Gym. Deerfield is good but they are not Morgan Park. Personally, I think it was genius to bring in Morgan Park last year. It got last year’s team into a big game against a potential state tournament favorite. The narrow defeat gave the 2018/2019 Rams the confidence they needed for their deep playoff run.

This year’s St. Patrick Shootout will bring St. Viator. Even without St. Viator’s graduated stars, Hernandez and Calvin, my beloved Lions are more than just dangerous. Lions forward Connor Kochera is drawing rave reviews for his performances over the summer.

Non-conference games include Ridgewood, Peoria Manual, Benet and Mather (for senior night).

The 3A landscape is a little different this year. This is not your father’s 3A. Changing  enrollment classifications have dropped some traditional 4A schools into 3A. Among those schools moving from 4A to 3A are Notre Dame, Deerfield, Benet, Fenwick, Kenwood and Riverside-Brookfield. All these 4A playoff teams in 2018/2019 are in 3A this year. Throw in powerhouse teams like Morgan Park and Bogan and 3A is a whole new world.

So here we go:

1.         Battle of the Bridge

2.         CCL Part 1

3.         Hinsdale Christmas Tournament

4.         CCL Championship

5.         3A Playoffs

How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

DePaul Prep Wins Opener Over Urban Prep--Bronzeville 74-32

The DePaul Prep Rams opened the 2019-2020 season this evening at the Tom Winicki Gym with a 74-32 victory over the Urban Prep—Bronzeville Lions.

The Rams struggled early in the first quarter but quickly started running the floor after Bronzeville turnovers ending in some easy layups for Ty Johnson. Lance Mosley added 4 three-pointers in the second quarter. DePaul Prep had a 41-21 lead at the half.

In the second half, DePaul coach Tom Kleinschmidt went deep into his bench. The Rams widened the lead holding the Lions to eleven points in the second half. The game finished with a 74-32 final score.

As I wrote in a tweet this morning, 111 days until the state championships. I never realized how short the season is. It will go by fast. So the first part of the season is the Lane/DePaul Prep Battle of the Bridge. The Rams will face Vocational, Niles North then probably Notre Dame. I hope to get out to St. Viator to see those Lions take on Evanston.

Marmion Defeats Amundsen 41-12 in 5A Playoff

CCL/ESCC White Division’s Marmion Academy (6-3) traveled to Chicago on Saturday (Nov. 2, 2019) to take on CPS Great Lakes Division’s Amundsen Vikings (7-1) in IHSA 5A playoff opener. Cadets scored on the opening play from scrimmage and never looked back. Marmion 41, Amundsen 12.

Despite the lopsided score in the playoff game, it was a successful 7-1 season for the Vikings and 5th year head coach Nick Olson. The Vikings under Coach Olson has been 19-9 since 2016.

The Marmion Cadets will face #2 seed 9-0 Rockford-Boylan on Saturday at Marmion.

Loyola Survives Maine South 14-6 in 8A Playoff Opener

For the second straight year, the Loyola Academy Ramblers traveled to Park Ridge to take on the Maine South Hawks in the IHSA 8A playoff opener. And like last year, the Ramblers defense throttled a very good Hawks offence holding them scoreless despite Maine South being able to move the ball down the field much of the game.

The first score the game came at the start of the fourth quarter when the Loyola running back plunged into the middle of the line for a short gain. It appeared to most, at least to those on the Loyola sideline where I was at the time, that the play was over, but there was no whistle. Maine West linebacker Liam Barry emerged from the scrum with the ball and raced into the endzone. The referee looked at the other officials for word that someone blew a whistle. Seeing none, he raised his arms signaling a touchdown and Maine South was on the board.

Maine South missed the extra point making the score 6-0.

After a Maine South fumble, the Ramblers QB JT Thomas to star wide receiver Matt Mangan. The PAT was good; Loyola lead 7-0.

The Ramblers added a touchdown with just over two minutes to play on a pass from Thomas to WR James Kyle making in 14-6. Maine South again moved the ball up the field but came up short.

Loyola advances to the second round and will face #2 Glenbard West in Wilmette next Saturday.

Nazareth Blanks Notre Dame 21-0

The Nazareth Roadrunners traveled to Niles Friday night (Oct. 18, 2019) and shut out the No. 8 Notre Dame Dons 21-0. I had to head out of town for the weekend so no story about the game. I should have gotten the photos up sooner. Sorry. Hope you like the photos.

Nazareth Comes Back to Defeat Marist 39-29

Less than three minutes into Friday’s night CCL/ESCC interdivision Blue/Orange matchup, Marist Redhawks jumped out to a 14-0 over #3 Nazareth Academy. A Marist punt return followed by a quick score, then a fumble return for a touchdown and the Roadrunners were down two scores.

Slowly, Nazareth clawed back. It was 14-13 at the half. In the third quarter, the Roadrunners added two more touchdowns. Marist added one as well. In the fourth, despite keeping a Marist drive alive on a personal foul which led to a Redhawk touchdown, the Roadrunners added still two more touchdowns and held the Redhawks. It was pretty much over midway through the fourth.

Nazareth looks as good as I have seen this year. Mount Carmel is close.

i hope you like the photos.

DePaul Prep drops St. Joseph 5-0 on Senior Day

The DePaul Prep Rams mens soccer team defeated the St. Joseph Chargers this afternoon (Oct. 8, 2019) at Montrose Field. It was my second soccer game of the year. I got a little better getting some photos, and the Rams did a little better too.

Two first half goals by Richie Martinez and Richie Deutsch and three second half goals by Jack Larson, Brandon Zummarraga and Ryan Reynaert drove the Rams to an easy 5-0 victory. St. Joseph struggled the whole game. The few shots on goal that the Chargers managed were easily handled the Rams goal keeper Teddy Bahu.

I hope you like the photos.

St. Laurence Defeats DePaul Prep 48-0

The St. Laurence Vikings defeated the DePaul Prep Rams 48-0 this afternoon (Sept. 28, 2019) in Burbank.

The Vikings had seven first half touchdowns: a punt return, a fumble recovery, an interception return and at least two on offense. I lost track of the two of the TDs. Frankly, the Vikings were just bigger, faster and stronger.

The Vikings starting running back, (#28, sorry I dropped my roster), is the real thing. He is as good a running back as I have seen this year. At one point in the first quarter, the Rams had him stopped but he refused to go down. It finally took six or seven Rams to bring him down.

Rams senior quarterback Zach Burhans had some nice on-time throws with some zip for completions and first downs. Unfortunately, he had just as many that late wobblers that went for interceptions or incompletions. At one point I heard DePaul Prep’s first year head coach, Mike Passarella, yelling to Zach, “You gotta play with confidence.” When Zach puts it all together, watch out, he can be very good.

I like what Coach Passarella is doing on offense and defense. His plays are well designed and well suited to his personnel. He calls good plays in good combinations. Despite having to pass, he doesn’t abandon the run.

The defense is on the field a lot. The tackling leaves something to be desired but the boys are not out of position. Even being undersized at almost every position, there is plenty of fight in the defense. The team seems well prepared. But just doesn’t have the horses.

Marian Catholic next Friday’s away game is another Red Division foe. The 3-1 Spartans should prove another tough test.

Leo Defeats DePaul Prep 20-18

The Leo Lions defeated the DePaul Prep Rams 20-18 yesterday (Sept. 21, 2019) at DePaul’s home field at Chicago Academy.

Leo jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter on the speed of senior quarterback Tobias Sample. Semple took a keeper around need end on a long touchdown run early in the first quarter.

The Leos followed up with a balanced run/pass drive late in the first quarter capped by a ten yard run up the middle by Lion’s junior running back Jalen Jackson, making the score 14-0, with a two-conversion.

The Rams struggled on office much of the first half as the defense adjusted to contain Sample and Johnson despite the loss of senior defensive tackle Graeme Phillips to an elbow injury.

In the second half, the Rams offense moved the ball as senior quarterback Zach Burhans connected on an early fourth quarter pass to a senior wide receiver Layton Hopkins bring the Rams within one score at 14-6.

But on the very next possession, Tobias Sample reprised his first quarter run with a 81 yard keeper around the right side to make the score 20-6.

No quit in the Rams. With 6:05 remaining Zach Burhans connected on a perfectly thrown 55 yard touchdown pass again to Layton Hopkins to make it a one score game again at 20-12.

After holding Leo, the Rams got the ball back and, with the aid of penalties by Leo, moved the ball down field for a potentially game tying touchdown and two point conversion. On a quarterback sneak, Zach Burhans moved the ball to the half year line only to twist his ankle and be forced to come out of the game for the fourth down play because of the stoppage.

Backup sophomore quarterback Anthony Martinez came off the bench cold for the all important 4th down play. Again Rams head coach and play caller Mike Passerella went to the quarterback sneak. Martinez took the ball and bounced outside the tackle reaching the ball over the goal line on his first play under center for a touchdown.

For the game tying two-point conversion, Passerella called a fade to the wide out in the left corner of the end zone. The pass to Rams senior wide receiver Cole Ceravolo was broken up by Lions’ defensive back Khalil Blakes. The conversion failed.

The Lions held the 20-18 lead. And there it would end as the Lions ran out the clock with a couple first downs.

I have been to a bunch of blow out games this season. This game was certainly the most entertaining I have seen. While disappointing for the Rams, they proved there is no quit in this team.

Lane Tech Falls to Westinghouse 20-7

What looked to be a blowout by Westinghouse in the first few minutes turned into an exciting defensive struggle. Lane Tech couldn’t make up for early miscues and falls to Westinghouse Friday afternoon (Sept. 20, 2019) 20-7.

On Westinghouse’s first offensive play from scrimmage the tailback went up the middle for about a fifty yard touchdown run. Westinghouse then stopped the Indians and blocked a punt. Westinghouse picked up the blocked punt and ran it in for a touchdown.

Just that fast Lane was behind 12-0.

To their credit there was no quit. What could have turned into a rout, didn’t. The Indians defense stiffened. The offence put together a nice drive and it was 20-7 at the half.

There it would remain. A defensive struggle broke out in the second have. Lane moved the ball on a couple late drives only to turn the over deep in Westinghouse territory. Westinghouse held the ball and ran out the clock.

Lane Tech drops to 2-2 on the season and will face Lincoln Park at home next Thursday evening at 7:15.

DePaul Prep Falls to Mount Carmel 7-0

The DePaul Prep Rams lost to Mount Carmel Tuesday afternoon 7-0. The Rams fell behind quickly to a very talented Mount Carmel Caravan team (1-2-1). The Caravan jumped out to an early lead and controlled the ball most of the game. The Rams record falls to 0-5 but they look to rebound tomorrow against CCL rival Fenwick.

I haven’t photographed a soccer game in a long time. Max Preps talented photographer Kristen Stickney was also at the game. She shot only with a 400mm lens from one spot for the whole game. I will be interested to see her shots. I think her goal was more about capturing photos of individuals. I was there just to get more of the action. Still, I need more practice at soccer games. I will have to get out to a couple more games this season.

2019 Von Steuben Day Parade

I joined the 47th Ward Regular Democratic Organization’s marchers in the 2019 Von Steuben Day Parade. I ended up photographing most of the Parade. It’s probably the third time I have photographed this parade. The 2 p.m. sun made for some harsh shadows. But I should not complain about too much light. The photos turned out pretty good.

Mount Carmel Handles Maine South 21-7

The Mount Carmel Caravan traveled to Park Ridge last night (September 6, 2019) to take on the Maine South Hawks and came away with an impressive 21-7 victory.

Caravan junior quarterback Justin Lynch, brother of head coach and former Chicago Bear Jordan Lynch, looked great both running and passing. He showed tremendous poise backed up in his own end-zone several times including leading his team on a 99 yard drive for a touchdown.

Mount Carmel should make a run at the Blue Division in the new CCL/ESCC super-conference and go deep into the IHSA playoffs.

DePaul Prep Rams Defeat Sullivan Tigers 32-12

DePaul Prep Rams move to 2-0 on the 2019 season with Friday afternoon’s 32-12 win over the talented Sullivan Tigers.

Football is Here--Lots of Changes this Season

It’s game day. Start of the high school football season. I have basically taken a month off since the last of the summer basketball tournaments, but I’m back and so is football. Big changes this year so let’s get into it.

Opening night.

The area’s top teams are starting with out-of-state opponents. Sun-Times #1 Nazerath and #2 Loyola play out-of-state. The highest ranked City of Chicago teams, Simeon and Phillips also have out-of-state games to start the season. Opening the season against out-of-state opponents is just dumb. Who cares about that? But don’t get me started.

The marquee matchup of the evening, in Chicago at least, might be #14 Mount Carmel v. Curie at Mount Carmel’s new Barda-Dowling Stadium on campus at 64th and Dante. It should be fun to see Mount Carmel with a true home field. I might have to head down to that one.

We have Lane v. Lake View to entertain us this afternoon in what I am christening the 47th Ward Bowl. Both schools are located in Chicago’s premier neighborhood and the athletic programs at both are on the rise. My alma mater, St. Viator takes on Prospect this evening. Hersey was the usual opening week nemesis back in my day. Now it’s neighboring Prospect High School to open the season. The Lions should have their paws full.

Chicago Catholic League and East Suburban Catholic League Combine for Football.

This football season is gonna be different. The Chicago Catholic League and the East Suburban Catholic Conference have combined for football—again. The CCL and ESCC have formed one combined conference with 24 teams in 6 divisions. Basically, all the Catholic high schools that play football in the Chicagoland area will be in what amounts to one large conference with six mini-conferences inside based upon the school size, football participation numbers and program success. Here is a link to the combined schedule: click here. According to the press release on the ESCC website, there was a unanimous vote in favor of the combination by all the principals of the CCL and ESCC schools.

As explained to me but DePaul Prep’s Athletic Director, Pat Mahoney, the ten member ESCC was have difficulty with some larger schools having successful programs and others struggling to compete. The larger fourteen school CCL, which was divided into four divisions based upon enrollment, football participation and programs success was able to split into divisions that provided a chance for the smaller schools to be competitive.

Older readers among you may recall they tried this before. From 1996 to 2002, the CCL and ESCC combined into the “Metro Catholic Conference.” The difference between then and now is that the Metro Conference required member teams to play a full schedule of conference games. There was no room for regional or historic rivalries. And no room for traveling out-of-state for games either.  The new arrangement has fixed that. The new CCL/ESCC will have only seven conference games. Each team can schedule two non-conference games.

I am looking forward to the new arrangement. It should give some the smaller Catholic school a chance at six wins and some playoff births.

DePaul Prep Football Preview.

Frequent viewers to this channel will recall that much of my coverage has been on DePaul College Prep teams. Big changes on this front as well.

Long time head football coach and Gordon Tech state championship team member, Bill Jeske, is out as coach of the Rams. Bill lead the Rams to much success during his tenure even with the challenge of declining enrollment at Gordon and declining participation in football on Chicago’s northside.

But Bill is not gone. He is staying on as freshman football coach. Something of Gordon remains.

Taking over for Bill as varsity coach is Michael Passarella. Coach Passarella comes from a stint as a game analyst with the Cleveland Browns, an assistant and offensive coordinator at the College of DuPage and as an assistant coach at a high school in Texas.

“Coach Passeralla has brought a new enthusiasm to the program. The kids are excited about football. We have increased participation. Winning six games and making the playoffs is not outside the realm of possibility this year,” Pat Mahony told me.

He might just be right. This year’s DePaul schedule is tough but doable. DePaul Prep Rams look to rebound from last year’s winless season. The Rams lost to Marmion, Chicago Hope, Leo, Fenton, Wheaton, St. Joseph, St. Ignatius, DeLaSalle, St. Rita and St. Laurence.

With the maturing of a young team lead by talented senior quarterback Zach Burhans and Sr. WR Michael “Mikey” Flynn, the Rams will surprise some people.

The CCL/ESCC schedule provides some significant changes as well. The Rams will take on Roosevelt (2-5 in 2018), Sullivan (6-5), Carmel (4-5), Leo (3-7), St. Laurence (4-7), Marian Catholic (1-8), Providence (5-5), Joliet Catholic (10-4 and 5A State Champion) and St. Joseph (1-9). Hopefully for the Rams, the addition of two CPS teams and the addition of Marian Catholic to the Red Division will give the Rams a fighting chance at a winning record. Carmel, St. Laurence, Providence and especially, Joliet Catholic will be long shots. Upset one of those teams, handle the rest, and there you have it—the IHSA playoffs. Once you’re in, who knows. Just ask Tom Kleinschmidt. The Rams basketball team won 3rd in state last year. Maybe the Rams football team could find itself in DeKalb come Thanksgiving. Just saying.

Preps Coverage.

In other news, Mike Clark took over for Beth Long covering football in the Sun-Times. We will be well served by the professional in-depth coverage by Mike Clark. Michael O’Brien will continue his coverage as well. It’s great to see the Sun-Times dedication to prep sports coverage. Michael O’Brien and Joe Henricksen do such a great job on basketball. Michael and Mike will be great working on football.

It seems the Chicago Tribune has completely abandoned covering high school sports. I looked at the Tribune website high school sports page. The last story published was from July. Embarrassing. There is such a void in coverage out there; a million stories to tell; a  million photos to publish.  

There you have it. My first long form blog post. It’s not exactly journalism. Not exactly commentary. I will try to do more. Throw in some news, analysis, commentary and photographs. Hope you like it.

El Paso, Illinois. 4th of July, 2019

Took some photos in El Paso, Illinois.

First Day of R-B Summer Shootout in the Books

Riverside Brookfield High School was packed on Friday evening (June 21, 2019) for the Summer Shootout. Fun to see this year’s versions of high school teams.

There were a million college coaches in attendance. The special seating areas were packed.

I only saw parts of a few games: Notre Dame v. Ridgewood, De LaSalle v. Nequea Valley, Whitney Young v. Oak Park River Forrest, DePaul Prep v. Belleville West.

I got a preview of the Notre Dame Dons with recent Evanston transfer Luis Lesmond. The Dons did not impress in win over Ridgewood. They just looked they were going through the motions but poured it on in the end winning 63-37.

DeLaSalle did not not impress. Lots of reckless individual effort without a whole lot of team coordination. I did not get a good sense of Nequea Valley, except they were big.

I saw a little of the Whitney Young v. Oak Park River Forest game. I was impressed with the OPRF’s point guard Demetrius Dortch.

DePaul Prep knocked off Belleville West 46-30. The Rams led the whole way. Brian Mathews dominated early play on the boards and scoring inside. He made the difference early. In the second half, the Maroons dialed up the pressure. The Rams struggled to score inside and Maroons cut into the lead. Three 3-pointers late kept the Rams ahead. Under two minutes, the Rams made their free throws and expanded their lead to 16 points.

It was a typical Tom Kleinschmidt win. Get a lead, push the ball up the floor—“Go with it,” run a weave, shoot the three and make free throws.

Headed back out there this afternoon to see the rest pool play.

As for the photos, I really wasn’t there to take photos. So I apologize if the photos were not up to my usual standards. The light was pretty good in the Fieldhouse. I pushed the ISO high and didn’t worry about it too much. The photos are pretty grainy but the only purpose for the photos is this blog post. They are not going to a newspaper or website so it doesn’t matter.

Come out and see next year’s players and teams.

Ridgewood Varsity Shootout Recap

Fenwick walked away with the 1st place trophy by defeating Notre Dame at the Ridgewood Varsity Shootout Saturday and Sunday (June 8 and 9, 2019) at Ridgewood High School in Norridge. The interesting early look at the 2019-2020 teams showed me a few things: the Chicago Catholic League and East Suburban Catholic Conference dominated play; Notre Dame is as good as expected; Niles North’s Aquan Smart is quite a player; 3A is going to be improved with Deerfield and Orr.

The field of 32 teams included:

#13 York, 4A Regional Champ, 29-5 (10-2)

#15 DePaul Prep, CCL Blue Champs, 3A third-place, 25-10 (12-3)

#18 St. Laurence, 3A Regional Champ, 27-6 (11-4)

#19 St. Viator, 3A Regional champ, 26-7 (7-2)

#23 Lincoln Park, 23-9 (7-2)

#25 Loyola, 4A Regional champ, 22-13 (8-7)

Downers Grove North, 4A Regional Champ, 23-12 (5-7)

Benet, 24-8 (7-2)

Deerfield, 4A Regional Champ, 21-11 (7-3)

Niles North, 20-10 (5-5)

Notre Dame, 19-12 (6-3)

Except the winner wasn’t any of those teams. The Friars tore through Warren, Deerfield, Huntley and Notre Dame to take the tournament. Interestingly, the quarterfinal round that saw three teams each from the Chicago Catholic League and the East Suburban Catholic League. It was almost 7 of 8 Catholic school quarter-finalists as St. Ignatius lost to York in the final seconds.

As luck would have it, Fenwick was not one of the teams that I had a chance to see. So I’ve got nothing for you on Fenwick.

This was my first Ridgewood Varsity Shootout. In fact, the only summer showcase I have been to in fact was last year’s Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout. These things are not for the casual basketball fan. It mostly parents and a few coaches. The games are short. Not the normal level of defense is played. The kids are gassed by the time the final games roll around.

Being new to the high school basketball beat, I have a steep learning curve to climb, so I am trying to get up to speed at these summer tournaments. They are good opportunities to see a bunch of teams all on the same day and get a preview of the new line-ups. It also affords a chance to talk to coaches in an informal setting.  

I suppose the only bit of actual news I learned is that Orr and Deerfield are going to be in 3A this coming season. I have not confirmed this yet but a coach told me that Orr is moving up to 3A and Deerfield is moving down in to 3A. That significant improves the number of quality Chicago area teams in 3A.

As for Ridgewood, while the facilities were far from ideal, they were pretty good. I liked how close together the gyms were. It was easy to pop back and forth and keep track of two or three games at once. I also liked that if I got a seat just right, I could watch two games at once. I watched St. Viator play York and Loyola play Benet at the same time.

However, there was a serious draw back late in the day on Sunday. At the outset of the Notre Dame v. DePaul Prep quarterfinal game, ND star quarterback and point guard Anthony Sayles slipped and feel on court 4—the unairconditioned “old gym.” It seems humidity in the hot and steamy gym made the court very slippery. I heard DePaul Prep Coach Klienschmidt say that “the last thing he wanted to see was any of the kids getting hurt.” Klienschmidt and Notre Dame’s Kevin Clancy conferred and agreed to suspend play while the referees asked organizers about moving the game.

The organizers agreed to move the game to court one and push the championship game back a half an hour.

So, what else have I got?

Niles North’s Aquan Smart is every bit as advertised. He leads his team and has all the skills. Niles North lost a nail-biter to a St. Viator Lions team that Quinn Hayes had playing at high level despite losing two of the best players in school history, Jeremiah Hernandez and Trey Calvin, to graduation.

Likewise, Tom Klienschmidt had his Rams playing well. Junior point guard Ty Johnson is playing at a whole different level. Bigger, stronger and faster, T.Y. is poised to became one the best players in the area. D.J. Shower, Brian Mathews and Cam Lewis filled in nicely for the Rams trio of graduated stars, Perry Cowen, Raheem Anthony and Pavle Pantovic. Brian Mathews is scoring nicely. He has a chance to be dominant player.

The Notre Dame Dons look really good. I have no doubt that Anthony Sayles will be a dominant player. That is if he doesn’t miss a significant number of games leading the Dons’ football team deep into the playoffs. Word is he is getting interest from Big 10 schools to play quarterback. With Troy D’Amico and the rest of their skilled group, I expect the Dons to challenge Marian Catholic for the ESCC crown.

St. Patrick looks very good. The Shamrocks played their formidable zone defense on the small court frustrating opponents and then turned and ran the floor. They should give people fits as they always do.

Loyola and Benet are going to be well coached and disciplined as usual but not as big as they have been. Loyola was missing their big kids so this early look will change.

Lane has a whole new team. I only saw part of the Indians game against Downers Grove North, not enough to make any informed evaluation.

As for the photos, I really wasn’t there to take photos. I mostly wanted to get a look at as many teams as I could in preparation for the upcoming season. The photos I took were mostly for the purpose of including them with my live tweets.

The light in the gyms was actually pretty good. Reporter Mike Clark (@mikeclarkpreps) teases me about my gym light comments. It’s all for the reader—my contribute to high school basketball. I can point my fellow fans in the direction of the gyms with the best light. As we all know, the most important part of basketball is the light in the gym.

Ridgewood has good light during the day. It’s the skylights. They added necessary light missing from Ridgewood’s main gym during the evening games. To any school administrators or young architects out there, skip the skylight. Add more LED lights instead.

Nevertheless, the photos are below. I hope you like them.