Lane Drops Taft 50-40 in Chicago Elite Classic

The Lane Tech basketball team defeated the Taft Eagles Friday (Dec. 3) 50-40 at the Chicago Elite Classic. The Lane basketball team gained the edge on the Eagles as the CPS Northside leader.

The game started slowly with both teams missing shots they would ordinarily make in their home gyms. Senior point guard Sean Molloy took early control for the Lane Basketball Team (5-1, 0-0 CPS Red West/North) with seven first quarter points. Lane grabbed a 12-9 first quarter lead that it would never relinquish.

It just seemed like the kind of game Lane wanted to play. Tough aggressive defense, control the tempo, score inside and kick out for open jumpers. It all worked, except for the open jumper part. The Basketball Team could barely find a bucket from beyond the arc, going 2 for 18 for the game.

Even so, Taft (3-2, 0-0, CPS White-North) never went away. Tons of effort on the offensive and defensive boards kept the Eagles in the game, out rebounding Lane 49 to 31.

The difference in the game was turnovers. The Eagles gave up the ball 25 times with Lane scoring 27 of its fifty points off Taft turnovers.

Molloy led all scorers with 14 points. Sean also had an impressing block in the first quarter swatting a ball away above the rim.

Interestingly, Lane’s scoring was spreadout throughout its roster. In addition to Molloy’s 14, Sophomore forward Shaheed Solebo had 9, Senior forward Stephen Goonan had 8, Junior guard Jack Tzur had 5 and three other players had 4 points each.

Taft’s 6’3” Junior forward Armin Aliloski lead the Eagles with 13 points and 18 rebounds.

With the Basketball Team lifting its record to 5-1 and Taft falling to 3-2, Lane looks to be the best CPS team on the Northside.

Lane Coach Nick LoGalbo wanted none of that, downplaying the rivalry with Taft.

“It’s another game,” LoGalbo said. “We improved tonight. We got better. Hats off to Taft. They played a great game. The got a new coach. He’s doing a great job. But it’s just another game for us. We prepared the same way we prepare for everybody. We did what we needed to do tonight one possession at a time.”

Modesty aside, Lane’s appearance in the prestigious Chicago Elite Classic is no accident. The Chicago Elite Classic started ten years ago by Whitney Young coach Tyrone Slaughter and Simeon coach Robert Smith. The legendary CPS coaches wanted to showcase top programs in bring in some out-of-state teams to amp up competition. This year’s out-of-state teams include Vashon High School and Chaminade College Prep from St. Louis, Evangel Christian from Louisville, Gonzaga from Washington, DC, and Mater Dei from California.

“It means a lot [to win in the Chicago Elite Classic,] Lane Senior guard Sean Molloy said. “We’ve been trying to get ourselves on the map. We started a few years back and we are getting more and more noticed from the local tournaments. To win in this, just proves that we should be here.”

“It was very clear tonight that it meant a lot to our boys to be here,” LoGalbo continued. “It meant a lot for our school to be here. We had a big crowd. We had alumni come out. I thought we represented well tonight.”

The Lane Basketball Team will get no rest next week with Steinmetz on Monday, North Lawndale on Wednesday, Schurz on Friday and Oak Forest on Saturday.

Likewise for Taft, from one high profile shootout to another. The Eagles will face host Ridgewood at the Ridgewood Shootout on Sunday (Dec. 6).

DePaul Prep Wins Battle of Bridge Defeating Notre Dame 66-51

The DePaul Prep Rams (4-0, 0-0) defeated the Notre Dame Dons (3-1, 0-0) at DePaul Prep 66-51 at DePaul Prep’s Tom Winiecki Gym to win the Battle of the Bridge Thanksgiving Tournament.

The Battle of the Bridge, a combination of the traditional Lane Tech Thanksgiving tournament and the then Gordon Tech Thanksgiving Tournament started in 2014, featured Lane, Notre Dame, Jones and Englewood STEM at Lane and DePaul Prep, Niles North, Lake View, and Legal Prep at DePaul. The winners of each division, DePaul Prep and Notre Dame, faced off Friday evening (November 26, 2021) at DePaul.

DePaul Prep is coming off one of its most successful seasons ever—sort of. The COVID season of 2021 saw the Rams end the season winning the only prize available, the Chipotle Clash of Champions, a season ending invitational tournament organized by Rick Malnati and Joe Henricksen and hosted by Notre Dame College Prep and St. Patrick. The Rams finished the season ranked No. 1 in the Sun-Times Super 25. Not a state championship but as close as one can get in the COVID year.

The Rams graduated all five starters from the championship team. Although entering the season ranked 14th, it was still something of an unknown as to how these players would mesh. The first test for the new Rams was Niles North. Niles North is always tough. Glenn Olson always has his time ready and motivated. The Rams eventually overcame the Vikings’ pressure winning 62-50 on Wednesday evening.

On the Lane side of the bracket, Lane and Notre Dame also faced off on Wednesday evening also. Similarly, despite a hard fought first half by Lane, Notre Dame’s shooting and relentless defense subdued Lane with the Dons winning, 67-44.

Friday evening the Rams faced the Dons, a clash of the two teams that had historic seasons earlier this year. The Dons also graduated an historic team including three division one players, perhaps the three best players in school history, Troy D’Amico, Anthony Sales and Louis Lesmond. While the Dons did not come into the season ranked, they have one the top players in the region, Sonny Williams. They are also extremely well coached by former Don, Kevin Clancy. And they also beat the Rams in this tournament championship in 2019.

With these two defensive minded and not terribly experienced teams, the game started as one might imagine—some tentative shots, missed layups and makable inside shots missed. The Rams opened a modest lead in the second quarter which the Dons closed with three free throws by ND’s Sonny Williams to end the first half with a 25-24 lead.

The third quarter was entirely different. The Rams defensive pressure and methodical ball movement put a 24-7 run on the Dons. Tom Kleinschmidt teams usually do this to teams in the second quarter. It might have been a little late but it got done. The Rams opened 48-32 lead at the end of the third quarter. Once the Rams get a lead, they rarely give it up on the strength of excellent foul shooting. Another test passed by the young—well, new—Rams.

“This is a good tournament for us,” said Kleinschmidt.

“We played two physical really talented teams in Niles North and usually Notre Dame every year. We set it up that way because we feel we are prepared every year having played those teams win or lose.

“This is a new team with a starting new five. They have been in practices for two years against some talented kids but the lights haven’t been on them. So the lights were on them a little earlier. We made some hiccups. We didn’t have our division one player out there, which makes me even more proud. We were down one at halftime. We fouled a three-point shooter at the half. So to be up or down one going in showed me a lot.

“[Jaylon McElroy] is unbelievable. He is the most talked about person this week on our team, with Gutierrez. He has a very high ceiling.

“They are groomed well. For [last year’s team], Perry [Cowen] and  Raheem [Anthony] did it for them. And then Tyler [Johnson] and Rasheed [Bello] did it for these guys. Hopefully, these guys are going to do it for Jaylon and Payton and those guys.

The Rams face Evergreen Park on Friday at home and start Catholic League play against Marmion on Tuesday.

Lane Tech pulled off an impressive win over Niles North to take third place in the Battle of the Bridge. Lane faces Bulls Prep on Tuesday, and then another high-profile appearance in the Chicago Elite Classic against Taft on Friday at 9:00 p.m. at UIC’s Credit One Arena.

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.

Wheaton North Handles Brother Rice 45 to 27

I traveled out to Wheaton North on Saturday afternoon for the IHSA 7A semifinal matchup between Wheaton North and Brother Rice. I intended to do a full news story. I started taking stats at the beginning of the game. One possession in and it was clear I could not photograph and pay attention to the details of the game.

I already knew this. I don’t know what made me think this game would be different. It wasn’t. I hope you like the photos.

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.

Crystal Lake Central 55, Amundsen 28

Today’s IHSA 6A playoff game Winnemac Stadium, a/k/a Jorndt Field saw the Crystal Lake Tigers defeat the Amundsen Vikings, 55-28.

This game was the Ted Lasso of high school football. When I got there, my long-time friend Erick Norton told me his son John is on the team. How cool is that?

“Sure, I will get all kinds of photos of him,” I told Erick

Amundsen High School at Foster and Damen, a CPS high school in the neighborhood, was coming it off its best season in as long as I have been paying attention. It’s great to see a neighborhood school succeed. I saw that the Vikings were a 5 seed playing a 12 seed. Not good karma as those who follow March Madness know. Now I had no illusions that Amundsen would be contending for a state title but who knows? A playoff win?

I knew exactly nothing about Crystal Lake Central. I remember being there once for a basketball game my son Dan was playing in the summer. It was far away, big and otherwise unremarkable. Nevertheless, I expected them to be good and probably trounce Amundsen.

And that they did. Crystal Lake Central’s sophomore quarterback Jason Penza returned Amundsen’s opening kickoff 80 yards on the first play of the game. The score was 55-28 in the end.

But that’s not the story of the game. There was just too much fight in the Amundsen kids to be overly concerned with the score. They were having too much fun playing the game. Sure, they were overmatched. For the most part, the Tigers were bigger, faster and stronger. And very well coached. The Crystal Lake play calling and execution were exquisite. These coaches did a great job. I do not know what I would have done differently even if I know enough to do something differently.

Even overmatched and outscored, the Amundsen Vikings played to the whistle. The kept cheering for each other while down forty points. They were having fun for the love of the game and for each other. They were having fun just for the chance to play.

Truth be told, the Amundsen coaches did a lot of yelling. But it kind of worked. The young men did not get down. They kept playing. They cheered each other on.

And they did what they could—which was score. Senior wideout Adam Muench is a player. He caught three touchdowns of 65, 60 and 33 yards. Senior quarterback Elijah Hernandez throws a lovely deep ball and hit Muench in stride on long touchdown passes. They made it look so easy at times, one wondered if they could get back in the game.

After the game, senior wide reciever Lamar Lane led his mates in a celebration reminiscent of the Samoan haka. I captured it on Twitter for those how might be interested.

We should all be proud of these young men. All of them, the Vikings and Tigers. They played well and for the love of the game. A good example for the adults in the room, at least this one.

As for the photos, it was an adventure. It was overcast and then bright midday sun, harsh with shadows and glare. You may notice a photo of an official’s back as he ran in front of my camera grabbing the autofocus and taking it with him and away from the touchdown pass that I had clearly in my focus points. It happens. I was not in good position. I just have never taken such perfect photograph of an official’s back to prove the autofocus capabilities of the new Canon.

I love shooting games at Winnemac/Jorndt. The red brick bleachers make for wonderful backgrounds.

I hope you like the photos.

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.

IC Catholic Prep Volleyball Wins DePaul Prep IHSA Regional

The Immaculate Conception Catholic Prep defeated the DePaul Prep Rams in two sets to win the IHSA Regional on Thursday evening (October 28, 2021).

I don’t know much about volleyball but the IC Knights played vary well as it appeared to me.

The new configuration of the court limited where I could shoot from. But I found a good spot. I hope you like the photos.

St. Ignatius defeats DePaul Prep 35-0

St. Ignatius defeated DePaul Prep 35-0 Friday evening (Friday, October 15, 2021) at DePaul.

I was looking forward seeing St. Ignatius with the Wolfpack coming into the game with their best season in decades.

I was genuinely impressed with the St. Ignatius’ play calling. And they were in no hurry. They took advantage of the fancy new play clocks at the new DePaul Prep Stadium. They used up the forty second clock then gashed the Rams for six or seven yards. It’s the kind of game I like; run the football and eat the clock.

The Wolfpack’s first possession took up half of the first quarter. It was all runs and short passes; nothing down the field. There weren’t even a lot of long gainers. Just of a lot of between the tackles runs for 5 to 12 yards. They worked the ball down the field and punched it in for a touchdown on the opening drive.

When the Rams got the ball, they had a couple of good gains and I think a first down, maybe two. But were stopped and had to punt.

A short punt gave the Wolfpack the ball near midfield. I felt it coming. Ignatius hadn’t thrown the ball down the field even once. Sure enough. A fade pattern to the pylon. The receiver ran an excellent route getting some separation before the goal line. The well thrown ball resulted in a quick Wolfpack touchdown and a 14-0 lead with plenty of time left in the first quarter.

Not entirely unexpected. St. Ignatius’ 7-0 record is its best start to a season in a long time. People I spoke to did not even know who long. With St. Ignatius not playing football at all for decades in the 1900’s, it could be sixty years since it had a record like this.

I knew coming in they were good, but how good I wasn’t sure. DePaul Prep head coach Mike Passarella told me before that game that Mount Carmel coach Jordon Lynch said, “If we played them ten times, they would beat us ten times.” High praise indeed.

After the trouncing of Mount Carmel early in the season and the favorable press reports, I was anxious to see them.

It would be a long night for the Rams. It was 28-0 St. Ignatius with plenty of time left in the second quarter.

The second half a different story. The game got chippy.

A friend asked, “What does chippy mean?”

It’s kind of hard to define. The players on both sides were in each other’s faces after the plays and finishing blocks after the whistle. Tacklers would take too long getting off the runners. Lots of pushing and shoving after the play.

Many games get chippy right after the outcome becomes obvious. But it usually tappers off and stops. Or the refs put an end to it.

Not this game. It just got worse. At one point, a member of the chain gang on the Ignatius sideline got in shouting match with the Ignatius coaches.

I hesitate to blame either team when this happens because it takes two to tango. The game seemed more about grievance than about the scoreboard.

It is not usually that way in the Chicago Catholic League. It was not that way last week when East Suburban Catholic League powerhouse Notre Dame played the Rams. This is typically not the way the winning team treats the losing team in the CCL.

Several people I spoke to after the game, basically said, “That’s the way they have always been.” One person recounted an exchange of angry words in the press box between supporters of each school.

These things happen I guess. Just an off night. 8-0 is new territory for most teams. I have tremendous respect for the St. Ignatius basketball coaches and players. Matt Monroe is a great coach and a better person. I don’t know the St. Ignatius football coach Matt Miller but I believe he is a good man. Clearly, he is an excellent coach.

I plan the see the Wolfpack again in the playoffs. They are clearly the story in the CCL/ESCC this year.

I also happened into Luke Hales, a recent St. Ignatius graduate and very talented photographer. I got to know him when we would shoot the same basketball games. He is studying communications at the University of Michigan now. He is going to be a famous photographer some day soon. I wanted to be happy for Luke with his beloved Wolfpack having such a great season.

As for the photos, not my best work. I just didn’t feel it tonight. I wasn’t writing a story about the game and publishing the photos any place but here. I also didn’t feel like fooling around with the 300mm. I was taking different kinds of photos tonight. Not typical football shots. So I hope you like them but I will certainly agree if you are underwhelmed.

DePaul Prep Girls Volleyball Falls to Trinity on Senior Night

The DePaul Prep girls varsity volleyball team lost a close match to Trinity on Senior Night Thursday (October 7, 2021).

This was my first time photographing volleyball since my daughter Mary Claire played for Gordon Tech in 2011. That was a good volleyball team, or so I remember. It came back to me after a while. I hope you like the photos.

DePaul Prep Falls to Lena-Winslow 38-27

The stadium was packed, an electric atmosphere for the Rams and their supporters. The presence of 200+ eighth graders and their families signal a boost in future enrollment for the school. Would it mean a boost in the varsity football record starting tonight against one of the top class 1A programs in the state?

The DePaul Prep Rams lost an entertaining game to the Lena-Winslow Panthers 38-27 on Friday night at DePaul Prep Stadium.

The Lena-Winslow Panthers came into the game 5-0. They took an 16-0 lead early in the second quarter when the Rams struck back. Senior quarterback found Rams’ sophomore wide receiver Lavelle Hardy up the right sideline for a 53 year touchdown.  

A break-out game for DePaul’s Sophomore wide reciever Lavelle Hardy. Young Hardy can flat out play. He followed this touchdown with another in the third quarter on a post pattern from Rams senior quarterback Chris Perez.

The Rams added two more touchdowns. One on a 43 yard pass from Perez to senior running back Cole Ceravolo and then another on a run up the middle near the goal line in the fourth quarter.

Final score Lena-Winslow 38, DePaul Prep 27.

I am going to have to go all Ted Lasso on you folks. This team is improving even if the improvement doesn’t show in the wins and losses. I always fell like this DePaul Prep team is just about to break through to winning games and being a playoff team. The effort is there. The coaching is there. The play makers are there. It will come. I am sure of it.

I took more photos than I usually do. 2483 to be exact, with three cameras. I wanted to document the night as much as I could. I wasn’t planning to right a story about it for Inside Publications. It was fun and did not take all Saturday morning to process 120 finalists down to the 50 or so below.

I hope you like them.

SHAEF Reunion in DC

On September 23rd, Bruce Springsteen’s birthday, Carol and I jetted off to DC for the SHAEF Reunion. SHAEF is the acronym for Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, my father’s Army unit in World War II.

There are only 22 surviving members of SHAEF that once had 10,000 soldiers. Most of the current members, like my sister and I, are children and grandchildren of those who served.

A strange thing I grant you.

One thing I remember about my childhood was my dad talking about guys he knew in the Army. He talked about his good friend Herb Abel, from Texas.

I don’t know anybody from Texas. I know people who live in other states, but they all from here. That’s why I know them.

I think it was easy for my dad and his generation to work and compromise with people from other states after the War. And by other states, I mean Southern states.

Our generation can’t seem to do that. They are not the opposition; they are the enemy.

At the dinner closing the SHAEF Reunion, a lady from the South asked me for my business card. I wasn’t actually carrying one. I had to get one that my wife had in her purse.

I gave it to the Southern lady whose name I confess I do not know. She took it in both hands and studied it carefully. She looked up at me and smiled warmly, thankfully.

I am glad I went to the Reunion.

I hope you like the photos.

Long Week Taking Photos

Since last Friday I have photographed four events. Four events in six days. Friday I shot the DePaul Prep v. St. Viator football game. Saturday, I stopped at the DePaul Prep Cross Country meet to grab some photos of runners. Then soccer on Monday and golf today. It feels good to be busy making pictures.

Today, I photographed the DePaul Prep varsity girls golf match against Fenwick. I got particularly good light at a point in the late afternoon which lent itself to wonderfully backlit shots.

After a few times now shooting golf, I am getting a good sense of what shots to get. Plus, it’s just really fun to be out on a golf course watching some very good golf being played. Many thanks to Pat Mahoney and Justin Lane for letting me get these photos.

I hope you like them.

DePaul Prep Cross Country Meet in Horner Park

I went over to Horner Park for the DePaul Prep cross country meet. I got some good photos of the runners. I wanted to see how my new camera would deal with this type of thing. I wanted to get outside the box on presenting some high school sports photos.

St. Viator Overwhelms DePaul Prep 41-7

The disappointment was palpable on his face. Disappointment twinged with a healthy bit of anger.

DePaul Prep’s varsity football coach Mike Passarella spoke to me a few minutes after talking to his team in the wake of the 41-7 loss to St. Viator on Friday, September 10, 2021.

“The biggest thing was defensively we missed a lot of tackles. Offensively, we did not move the ball. Three and outs. We keep going backwards. We put our defense in a tough spot. We had a good game plan. We just didn’t really execute it,” said Passarella.

“You could tell that we can play, but when it gets close, we just can’t compete,” Passarella continued. “We have not learned how to win. That’s the one thing we have to work on, just that growth.”

That’s basically true about the game as a whole but the first half but the first half was close. One had feeling that the game could go either way with St. Viator leading 13-7 when the teams went into the locker rooms.

The DePaul Prep Rams (2-1, 0-0 in ESCC Red) won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. That showed me an aggressiveness and confidence that many teams give up these days preferring to get the ball opening the second half. The Rams took the ball but their opening drive stalled near midfield.

The St. Viator Lions (1-2, 0-0 in CCL/ESCC Purple) worked the ball down the field with their first possession. Junior running back Jake VanBooven took a handoff at the four yard-line around the right end and scored giving the Lions an early lead.

The Rams answered quickly on the next drive with a 73-yard pass from Grant transfer senior quarterback Chris Perez up the right sideline to sophomore wide receiver Lavelle Hardy. Perez hit Hardy in stride, and no one was near enough to stop him. Perez impressed the opening games of the season with impressive wins over Walter Payton College Prep and Ridgewood High School particularly throwing the deep ball.

Late in second quarter the Lions answered with another touchdown from VanBooven making the score 13-7 at the half.

St. Viator head coach Dave Archibald was on the opposite side from Passarella on the field and on the season. Archibald’s Lions lost two non-conference openers to tough teams. The opened against very strong 3-0 South Elgin team that handled the Lions 48-7. Last week the Lions lost a close game to Morgan Park 30-22.

“I told our guys we are a young team in ways. If we keep climbing, we have wins that we can get on this schedule. Tonight was a great momentum [builder] where they gained that belief in themselves. When we play the way we are capable of playing, we are going to be able to contend and win some big games,” Archbald said.

The early difference in the game was Viator’s Jake VanBooven. “Jake is a phenomenal athlete. He had an injury last season. The first couple weeks for him were weeks where he was growing in confidence. Tonight he showed his best performance as a running back. He is nowhere near his ceiling. You will only see him get better and better.”

The game turned in the third quarter. St. Viator’s VanBooven added a third rushing touchdown. The Rams’ Perez threw a late pick-six to St. Viator’s Sr. linebacker Carson Eggebraten. The Lions started passing and added two more fourth quarter passing touchdowns to put the game out of reach.

I could feel Coach Passarella’s disappointment because he apologized to me before the game for what his Rams were about to do to my alma mater. Having seen the growth in his program over the last few seasons and the amazing growth of DePaul College Prep, I believed him.

The Rams are close. They just need to take that final step and, in Coach Pass’s words, “learn how to win.”

League play begins next week with Leo. The season is young.

DePaul Prep Takes on Notre Dame at Marovitz

Just my second time photographing golf. I need more practice on where and when to shoot. I got a few good shots. The fading evening light was a little challenging.

Many thanks to DePaul Prep’s Justin Lane and Pat Mahoney for allowing me to use their boys varsity team as test subjects. Special thanks to Rams Jack Kennedy, Wyatt Carlson, Emmitt Miller, Aiden Williams, Alex Johnson and Will Hartman for dealing with the distraction of a guy taking their photo while golfing. That can’t be easy to deal with.

And it was also great to see my friends Doug and Elsa Johnson whose son Alex is an excellent golfer.

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.

Last Day in My House

I sold my house in July and moved out on August 8, 2021. I lived in this house almost half my life. These are the photos that I took that day. I didn’t have to move everything out because the house is being torn down. I just left what I could not keep.

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.