The following are posts related to specific shoots. And other things that I cannot stop myself from writing about.
The DePaul Prep Rams varsity team had two home matches against rivals Resurrection and Rosary this week. I couldn’t pass that up. Tuesday’s Resurrection match turned out better for the Rams winning in two straight games. Not so much in today’s match against Rosary. Rams fell in two straight games.
Volleyball is hard to photograph. I am out of practice. I will keep working at it. I hope you like the photos.
The Lincoln Park Lions (3-1) came back in the fourth quarter to defeat Payton College Prep 19-7 at Lane on Saturday afternoon. The Lions trailed 7-6 midway through the fourth quarter and were struggling. The Payton Grizzlies were struggling too without two impact players and looked to runout the clock. It wasn’t to be. The Lions blocked a punt and recovered the ball deep in Grizzles territory with a chance to take the lead.
“That was a huge play. We told the guys that someone is going to have to make a play, especially on defense the way the game was going for us. I didn’t expect it to happen there but [we] blew it up and that was huge,” said Lincoln Park’s first year head coach Rick Ludwig.
“We were coming off a down year. Early in the game, things didn’t go our way. You could see some of the guys with their heads down. After [the blocked punt], they looked like a different team. That was the most excited that I have seen them. They were very confident. That’s a huge win for our program.”
The Lions have a lot of personality and a lot of talent but they also made a lot of mistakes.
“That’s what we are trying to fix,” Ludwig continued.
“The only ones that can really beat us are ourselves and we are doing a very good job of doing that.”
That’s actually true. The Lions only defeat this year was a forfeit loss to Von Steuben in the first game of the year. Then followed two blowout wins against Gage Park and Kennedy. With thi win against Payton, Lincoln Park sits atop the CPS Red-West conference with an excellent chance to make the IHSA Playoffs despite some tough upcoming games against Noble/Bulls and Raby.
The Payton Grizzlies came into the game with an impressive 2-1 record and even in defeat, the Grizzlies played DePaul Prep tough in the season opener. Although coach Craig Knoche’s Grizzles squad is small, it is lead by seniors Charlie Newton, an expected Ivy League player, and Kyle Osterman. This combination leads Payton’s explosive passing attack.
Despite the offensive excellence on both teams, it was a defensive struggle in the first half because of penalties and turnovers. Lincoln Park’s Gus Wentland opened the scoring late in the first half on post pattern touchdown catch.
After the kickoff, Payton answered immediately with a simple dive play up the middle to Payton senior running back Morrison Giggetts. Running through a gaping hole in the line, Giggetts took the ball up the middle and weaved his way down the field for an 80 yard touchdown run. With the PAT, the Grizzlies went into the half time break with a 7-6 lead.
That’s where it stood through the third quarter and half the fourth quarter. Neither the Lions nor the Grizzlies could get anything going on offense. Payton’s efforts were severely hampered when key two-way starters Newton and Giggetts both left the game with injuries and did not return.
The block punt and new life breathed into the Lions. Senior running back Anius Finch scored on a nine-yard run to give the Lions a 12-7 lead.
After getting the ball back, on fourth down outside the 20-yard line, Lions’ sophomore wideout Jerrell Benson caught a slang pass at the ten, broke a tackle and stretched out to score a touchdown and put the game out of reach.
Payton senior announcer Theo Geovanis-Schwartz live-streamed the game on Payton’s You Tube channel, “Payton Sports.” The game will be available to watch on that channel as some point.
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.
Saturday, September 10, 2022, DePaul Prep hosted its Catholic Cup cross country invitational meet. No one seemed to know how long Gordon Tech/DePaul Prep has been running this cross country meet at Horner Park. The first time I covered it was 2012. It was going on well before that.
Saturday was bigger and better than ever. And DePaul Prep’s Mac Kittrell won the boys varsity race by a wide margin.
I included a photo from the 2012 cross country meet at the end of the gallery. See if you can recognize one the runners pictured in the photo.
Most times when I take photos I just do the best I can in the moment. I can usually tell if the photos will be any good. Sometimes—rarely—when I open photos I have taken, I am surprised at what I find, surprised how much I like the photos. This is one of those times.
My thanks to Pat Mahoney and the other designers and benefactors of the as yet unnamed DePaul Prep Stadium. The light is wonderful—truly outstanding. Thank you.
A proper article about the game will follow. I wanted to get these photos up by themselves first.
I hope you like them.
By Jack Lydon
Lane Tech defeated Thornton Fractional South 10-6 on Friday evening at Lane Stadium. Lane head coach Dedrick Dewalt switched offensive styles this season moving to a wing T offense in order to take advantage of the strength of his roster—big lineman and quality running backs—which carried the day for the Champions.
A huge crowd at Lane Stadium including two student sections, one at each end of the field, saw the Champions march the ball toward the north endzone ball at the end of the first quarter for a 22-yard field goal by Mudgim Kreho, senior kicker and varsity soccer player from West Rogers Park.
The signature play of the game and the new offense had to be a second quarter run by Lane’s senior running back #9 Yiannis Katsogridakis. Katsogirdakis took a simple dive up the middle smashing his way forward for ten or so yards. He appeared to be stopped by five or six TF South Red Wolves but refused to go down. Literally dragging and carrying the group for an additional twelve yards before eventually collapsing under the weight of the defenders.
“Our kids came in thinking, ‘Hey it’s an easy game. We won by 20 last year.’ We tried to tell them, they pound the ball. They come off tackle. They’ve got good backs. If you don’t tackle them, they are going to go for five yards. If you put them in 3rd and short or 4th and short, they are going to win the game,” said TF South head coach Bob Padjen.
“You gotta stop the [wing T offense] by having linebackers that can read the guards. When the guard and tackle pull, they have to [go] with them. Our guys weren’t doing that in the first half. They were watching the backfield action. You can’t watch the backfield action. And our guys were.”
“That’s our Wing T Offense. Last season we had a bunch of receivers that we could throw the ball around to. This year, our strength is our running backs and our offensive line. So we switched up our offense a little bit to feature our strength. We are going to ride those big boys all season,” said Lane Tech’s third-year head coach Dedrick Dewalt.
A Wing T Offense takes a lot of trust, a team cannot make mistakes, one cannot have negative plays. The Campions didn’t.
“It’s something that we rep every day in practice. We preach no turnovers, no penalties that get us off schedule. With this offense, you have to stay on schedule. Three or four yards a carry. We won this game tonight because were able to control the ball and keep their offense off the field,” Dewalt continued.
Leading 3-0 at the half, Lane picked up where they left off when play resumed. On the strength of repeated carries by Lane’s powerful senior running back Phineas “Finn” Merrill, the Campions marched down the field. Katsogridakis capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown making the score 10-0.
Even so, the Red Wolves were not done. After a penalty marred third quarter, Padjen rallied his crimson canines. Opening up the offense, the Red Wolves marched down toward the south endzone with repeated passes in the flat. South’s Seneca Smith scored with 9:52 left in the fourth on a four-yard run making the score 10-6. PAT failed.
Lane’s ball control scheme took time off the clock until finally giving that ball back to Red Wolves with plenty of time on the clock for a go-ahead score. South moved the ball up the field with the help of some penalties by Lane.
With 33 seconds to play, Lane’s senior linebacker Zach Shashoua picked off a pass in the flat that have been give the Champions fits throughout the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
The casual football fan might not appreciate the finer aspects of a wing T offense in action. Few passes, not much scoring but run faithfully by a coaching staff and executed by a disciplined offensive group with a stingy defense, it’s beauty to behold. This year’s newly created CPS Red-North better study up and hit weight room. Lane is going to put them to the test.
Interestingly, both Lane Tech and TF South officially adopted new team names early this year. Lane dropped “Indians” several years ago and just this year adopted “Champions.” TF South, formerly the “Rebels,” are going with “Red Wolves” starting this school year.
Lane takes on Hubbard next Saturday at noon at Lane Stadium before staring conference play the following week.
TF South looks to turn around their 0-2 season start against archrival TF North.
{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
“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.
I have been watching his You Tube channel for years now. I respect his talent and his opinions. It’s not like he did me a personal favor. He does for anyone who asks (and pays him a modest sum). Early this year, Jared Polin, a You Tuber, photographer, content creator, etc., reviewed my website on video and let me have it.
My website has been basically the same since I started it about four and a half years ago, December 2017. I started publishing my photos and stories in the Center Square Journal about ten years ago. That local new website became Chicago Bulldog Media. I posted my photos on its website and Facebook page but unfortunately that paper went under too. Then the PublicLeague.com. It went under too. Then IL Preps Insider. Luke Druze gave that up a year or so ago. I don’t have good luck with publishers. I tend to kill them off.
Now I write for Inside Publications and mostly publish my photos on this website. Inside has been around for a while. It is a proper print publication and will undoubtedly survive, even with me on board.
My website has been the same for far too long. I played around with changes several times but I always liked what I had better. Late last year I saw that Jared Polin was offering critiques of photos and websites so I signed up. He actually did this critique about eight months ago. In typical fashion, I am just now getting around to posting it and changing the website now.
The video is posted here. I thought I would leave the website as is so my readers could look at it after watching the video and judge for themselves. My plan is to changer the website not look after the video is released. so you can decide for yourselves is the changes were beneficial. Let me know what you think. Let me know what you think of Jared’s critique and let me know what you think of the changes I will make.
These are my photos from Day 2 of the Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout. I only saw parts of a few games of Day 2.
Kenwood v. East St. Louis. Kenwood’s Bryce Heard impressed in a high energy, wide open, up and down the floor dismantling of East St. Louis.
DePaul Prep v. O’Fallon. The Rams new starting line-up feature three juniors and two sophomores. Even so the Rams handled O’Fallon squad I know little about.
Lincoln Park v. Stevenson. The Lincoln Park Lions had no numbers on their jerseys. That makes it hard to put a name to a face. Too bad too because the Lions played very well against Stevenson. It will just take a little doing to get to know these putative kings of the jungle,
DePaul Prep v. Simeon. The young Rams were blown out by the talented and experienced Wolverines featuring the new Loyola commits Wesley and Miles Rubin. DePaul Prep coach Tom Klienschmidt will no doubt use this a motivational tool for his young team that will face tremendous competition in the Chicago Catholic League Blue Division in the coming season.
The 19th Annual Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout opened this afternoon. It felt good to be back. Not very many teams from my coverage area are in the tournament. It’s basically, just Lane, Lincoln Park and DePaul Prep. So I could get to see some other teams.
Lake Forest v. St. Rita. The first game I saw was Lake Forest v. St. Rita. I got a look at Asa Thomas and Nojus Indrusaitis. They are as advertised. The Mustangs did not have their big men but they didn’t seem to need them. St. Rita is going to be something to watch this year. The Chicago Catholic League Blue will be loaded.
Lane v. St. Ignatius. Shaheed Solebo looked bigger, faster and stronger. He is only a junior but the “Champions” are his team. Lane jumped out to a big early lead. Ignatius came around and gained the lead at 12:11 in the second half and would not give it up. Richard Barron and Jackson Kotecki were too much for the Champions. St. Ignatius 57, Lane Tech 54.
Lane did not fair much better against Burlington Central in their second game. It was my first look at Burlington Central. They can play. Burlington Central 56, Lane Tech 46.
Matt Monroe’s Wolfpack, fresh off a 3A Third Place finish last year, brings back some key players from his historic year, Richard Barron, Jackson Kotecki and Emmitt O’Shaughnessy. I got my first look at sophomore Phoenix Gill. Gill looks like he will fill in nicely for A. J. Redd. Oh, and the Wolfpack will be in the CCL Blue this year.
Glenbard West v. Tinley Park. Glenbard West dominated last year. I got my first look at them at R-B last year. They were the talk of the event then and went on to win 4A. How would there team be this year? Last year’s leader and putative point guard Caden Pierce, now graduated, was on the bench for support. But let’s just say they are not last year’s team. Not the same length on defense. Not any length on defense. Athletic, well coached but not the same team.
St. Laurence v. Morton. St. Lawrence looks good. Very athletic. The coach I was sitting next thought there are a year away.
Mount Carmel v. St. Viator. The Caravan’s junior forward Angelo Ciarovino was the player to watch. He had some early points and one sequence of two straight blocks. Deandre Craig impressed as well.
More tomorrow including DePaul Prep and Lincoln Park. Get there early. Parking is tough.
By Jack Lydon
Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout is the start of basketball season, for me at least. And so it begins. R-B and its driving force Mike Reingruber, will host 72 “top area teams” on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Play opens Friday at noon with games across six courts. The complete Friday and Saturday schedule is available here. Sunday here.
72 area high schools will participate along with several from the St. Louis area—Belleville Althoff, Belleville East, Belleville West, East St. Louis and O’Fallon. As for the top teams, who know who those teams are at the moment?
There are a number powerhouses from last year, such as 4A State Champion Glenbard West, 1A State Champion Yorkville Christian, 4A runner-up Whitney Young, 3A third-place St. Ignatius, 3A fourth place Simeon, 2A third place DePaul Prep.
But that was last year, star seniors have moved on to college programs, the new senior class comes front and center.
I have learned over several years going to R-B that these games are not regular high school games. It like the summer leagues where one gets a glimpse of the new starters playing offense and not a ton of defense. I got to see the highly-touted young players about to make there impact.
To the untrained eye, R-B can look like just another basketball tournament. So I am doing some research to find out who to watch. This year’s top seniors at R-B include Darrin Ames (Kenwood), Asa Thomas (Lake Forest), Cameron Christie (Rolling Meadows), Dalen Davis (Whitney Young) and Miles and Wesley Rubin (Simeon). There are a good number of juniors to see at R-B that will impact there teams and conference play including James Brown (St. Rita), Morez Johnson (St. Rita), Jaden Smith (Kenwood), Payton Kamin (DePaul Prep), Jaylen McElroy (DePaul Prep) and Shaheed Solebo (Lane Tech).
As for what teams to keep and I eye, I am of course interested in the teams in my coverage area, Lane Tech, Lincoln Park and DePaul Prep. The freshly re-named Lane Tech “Campions” will feature junior standout Shabeed Solebo. Lincoln Park looks to overtake Lane as the top northside school in CPS’s tough Red-West/North division under third-year coach Antwon Jennings. Tom Kleinschmidt reloads after another historic state playoff run with emerging stars Payton Kamin, Jaylen McElroy. DePaul Prep’s sophomore Jonas Johnson will be fun to watch too.
Then there are top teams to look at and see what they have coming back. I don’t do rankings. Understand, I typically cover Chicago Catholic League and Chicago Public League games. I get out to some ESCC and Evanston games when I can. These are a mix of top teams from last year and teams that I have seen over the past few years that are on the rise. So in no particular order:
Glenbard West. It should be interesting to see what Glenbard West can do after its historic season. Can Jason Opoka recreate the defensive length of Pierce, Huff, Durkin, Renfro and Warden?
Leo. After winning the Chicago Catholic League last year but losing the 2A Super-Sectional to CCL rival DePaul Prep, the Lions look to take another step. With returning stars Jared Gee, Tyler Smith and Jakeem Cole, Jarrod Gee and Tyler Smith, the Lions should be ready to make another deep run.
St. Rita. Is this the year for the Mustangs to bolt to top of the Catholic League Blue and makes it past Kenwood and Whitney Young in 4A? With two top ranked players, James Brown and Morez Johnson, the Mustangs their best chance in years. But will it be enough?
St. Ignatius. Coming out of the gate last season with a #4 Sun-Times ranking, he Wolfpack were in the spotlight. Some early season struggles with character building last second losses got them ready for a deep run in 3A and a third in State finish. Matt Monroe brings back key players Richard Barron and Jackson Kotecki. Even with the graduation of A. J. Redd, the Wolfpack should be very good and highly ranted.
DePaul Prep. And then there is DePaul Prep. After the 2020 COVID season, he Rams lost all five starters including standout and recent transfer to U. C. Davis, TY Johnson. Nevertheless, Tom Kleinschmidt plugged in recent Cleveland State re-commit Dylan Arnett, Trevon Thomas, sophomore standouts Payton Kamin and Jaylen McElroy, Julian Green and Anthony Gutierrez. That group battled in the CCL Blue and ran through 2A dropping Orr, Michelle Clark and Leo to make it to Champaign finishing third.
That was last year. This year is up to the still very young Rams, including Kamin and McElroy, Will O’Shields, Maurice Thomas and perhaps highly regarded sophomore Jonas Johnson. No easy road for the Rams in the CCL Blue with St. Rita, Mt. Carmel, Brother Rice, Leo and the always tough Loyola Ramblers.
Kenwood. Then there is the Chicago Public League. Kenwood made believers out of me. I saw them handle Curie at Curie. Highly rated Darrin Ames and Davius Loury return. Expect Kenwood to be at or near the top of the Red-South/Central in February and highly ranked to start the season.
Whitney Young. Whitney Young is Whitney Young. Dalen Davis and Marcus Pigram return. Tyrone Slaughter will reload and be back.
Simeon. It will be a fun season with Robert Smith’s victory lap. We will get a look at Simeon as the Wolverines take on DePaul Prep at 3:30 on Friday at R-B. Aviyon Morris, Jalen Griffith, Wesley Rubin and Miles Rubin return. This group will want to win for their legendary coach’s final tour.
So there you go, a look at a few teams that will play at R-B. Get out there early. Parking is . . . difficult.
Correction. I previously identified Timothy Christian’s Ben Vanderwall as Yorkville Christian’s Jaden Schutt. Yorkville Christian was not at the 2021 Riverside Brookfield Shootout. My apologies.
Timothy Christian’s Ben Vanderwall at 2021 Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout
I wasn’t able to give this game the full treatment with a published story because of other commitments but I am so glad I could get to the game. I have been following Amundsen baseball largely because of the plight of their filed in Winnemac Park. But that’s now the story. This scrappy young squad from the formerly 47th Ward school, now 40th Ward, is the real story, They put together and excellent season with solid performance even in defeat, particularly against Lane and yesterday against St. Patrick.
Watch out for them next year. Now that the turned some heads, I suspect they will get a lot more attention.
As I tweeted, these young Vikings will raid the Northside and vanquish the hapless schools unprepared for attack. I know this is not the ninth century coast of Europe, but CPS schools ought start building their round towers now if they hope to survive next spring.
Now with that said about the Vikings, the Shamrocks have an excellent squad. Their picking was fantastic. I wasn’t scoring the game and neither team was feeding the Gamechanger app so I don’t have stats. But they did not give up many hits.
The Shamrocks line-up was solid top to bottom, their defense was sold and I didn’t catch too many base running mistakes. They took advantage of a disastrous third inning where the Vikings gave up three runs on some throwing errors.
I hope you like the photos. (And forgive my clumsy Norse analogies.)
We learned today that DePaul’s Prep’s head baseball coach and teacher is leaving to become the athletic director at IC Catholic high school in Elmhurst.
After seventeen years at Gordon Tech and DePaul Prep, Chris is moving up. I know coaches and teachers coming and going from high schools normal but I can scarcely conceive of DePaul Prep without Chris Haas. When my kids started at Gordon, Chris was the Bill Jeske’s offensive coordinator, he was at every home basketball game and of course, he was the manager of the very successful baseball program for GT and DePaul Prep.
With Mike Wieda, Paul Chabura, Sean Connor and now Chris Haas being snatched up by other schools, I hope the loss of all this coaching talent doesn’t hurt too much.
Best of luck Chris. Thanks for teaching and coaching my kids. We will miss you. Don’t be a stranger. I will have to get out to wherever IC Catholic is and photograph some games.
Go Rams!
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!
I had the good fortune to cover the Lane v. Brooks CPS City Championship on Monday at Wrigley Field. I was in the photo well adjacent, really just part of the Cubs dugout. Very cool.
My article about the game which appears in today’s Inside Booster, Skyline and News Star and is also posted on this blog. I posted my photos from the game there. Many of the photos are unremarkable but I want to put them up so players and coaches might see themselves and others can get a better feeling for the action.
I parked for free in the Cubs “Camry Lot” on Grace. By chance, Quinn Harris and Kirsten Stickney pulled in behind me. Quinn and Kirsten are two of the best photographers anywhere. I have been lucky enough to get to know them some from shooting high school sports over the past few years. I have learned a great deal from them. They are wonderful people eager to help me. I greatly appreciate that.
Quinn takes the most beautifully exposed, colored and composed photos one will see anywhere. Kirsten’s gift for the reaction shot is unequaled. I try to get those shots but never come close to here level. Being there with them made it all the more special for me. Quinn took Kristen and I on a little tour of Wrigley and where to get the best shots. He shots at Wrigley quite a bit.
After the game, I was sitting at a table in the dugout working on my story and Pearl Jam’s “Someday We’ll Go All the Way” song come over the sound system. I got a little choked up.
I have known for some time that it is not advisable to both a photograph and report on the same game. When I started this amateur sports coverage stuff for Patrick Boylan and Mike Foucher’s Center Square Journal eleven years ago, I learned that if I try to do both, I do both poorly. I had to choose one or the other. I choose photography because I like it more. I am better at it than writing.
But I was at Wrigley to do a job. And so I did. I felt like a real working reporter. Frankly, it’s not something I are really up to. My wordsmithing could use plenty of help. I write these articles at the expense of my vanity, because there just isn’t enough reporting on high school sports out there. Michael O’Brien and Mike Clark can’t be everywhere.
As excited as I was to be shooting at Wrigley Field, I knew I really did not have the proper equipment to shoot a baseball game at a major league ball park. One really needs a 400mm/f 2.8 lens. My 7D with the 300mm lens is roughly that equivalent but the quality is greatly reduced—basically a poor man’s rig for the job. But that what I have, so I used it to some effect. I also have a 1Dx so its not like I don’t have good enough stuff. My failings as a photographer are not for want of good equipment. It’s just more suited to basketball.
This day, I concentrated on writing the article for Inside Publications. Throughout the game I kept asking myself, “what is the story of the game?” It didn’t take long to see that the story was how Lane Tech’s junior pitcher, Josh Katz, to over the game.
I cannot overstate how impressed I am with the poise of this young man. He is either 16 or 17 years old and yet he took the mound at Wrigley Field like a seasoned major league veteran and retired the first six batters he faced—1, 2, 3—in the first two innings.
When I spoke to him after the game, I could see just how genuinely excited and happy he was just to be playing at Wrigley Field. He did what he could to take it all in. After the game, I got some shots of him walking out into the infield in the direction of the bleachers just to soak it in.
In my questions, I brought it all back to baseball asking about what pitches he was throwing. He seemed even more excited talking about how his two-seamer was riding in on the hands of the Brooks batters.
Baseball is such a beautiful game played on the grass field between one's ears. Josh Katz gets it. His catcher Zach Shashoua gets it. Lane Tech manager Sean Freeman gets it. The whole Lane Tech Baseball Team, all 500 of them, get it.
I’m not Frank Deford or Rick Telander writing eloquently about the majesty of baseball. But I sure experienced the majesty of the game, our national pastime, at Wrigley Field on Monday. Truly a wonderful experience.
By Jack Lydon
The Lane Tech baseball team won the CPS city baseball championship 2-1 over Brooks Eagles Monday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
The win came on the strength of an impressive four-hit, one run pitching performance by Lane Tech junior right-handed pitcher Josh Katz (6-0), who’s final win was for the championship over the Eagles.
But the game was not without some drama in the top of the seventh inning.
Katz only had one earlier jam, in the top of the third, but he came through it unscathed.
Taking a 2-0 lead into the final inning, Katz took the mound approaching a 100 pitches.
The first two batters struck well hit singles up the middle.
“I thought it might be the end after those two hits,” Katz said after the game. “I was just kind of trusting my stuff, being relentless, trusting my defense knowing that I have the best guys in the entire city behind me. So just being able to throw strikes, pound the zone, trust what I have done throughout the season.”
Sun Times sports reporter Mike Clark asked Josh, “How many more pitches did you have left [at the end]?
“About five maybe, not many before we were going to have to go the bullpen,” Josh responded.
“It felt good to close that game out after going seven innings. To be able to win City, especially at Wrigley Field, it feels great.”
Katz was channeling his inner Kyle Hendricks—cool as a cucumber—coming off the Wrigley Field pitcher’s mound after setting Brooks down 1-2-3 in the first two innings.
“I was getting in my groove. I started feeling my stride and then I just continued to tell myself to throw strikes and trust my defense. That’s kind of all it is at a point, just throwing strikes and doing what I do.”
“I was mostly working the fast ball especially in the later innings. Just to be able to trust that. Today, I went with the two seam just to be able to jam their hitters.”
Lane Baseball Team coach Sean Freeman left Katz in after the first two hitters reached in the seventh with a slender two run lead.
“He had been throwing lights out all day, he’s been lights out for us in crunch time all year, so I had nothing but faith. We had a quite conversation when they had two guys on if we wanted to go [to the pen]. But I just told our pitching coach that it’s [Josh’s] game to lose. I have all the faith in the world in him. He has had multiple big moments throughout the year at the end of the game and he has always come through.”
And that he did, after giving up one run, Katz got the last two batters out, and now the Lane Tech team is City Champs.
Lane junior catcher Zach Shashoua said, “We’ve been there before. I have been playing with Josh since I was five. He’s got a fastball, a slider, a two seamer, a curveball and a change. The two seam was looking really nice today. He’s just always throwing strikes since he’s got the velocity. He found the zone, and we’re City champs.”
Lane starts IHSA 4A playoffs on Thursday as the five seed in the Glenbrook North Regional. Lane comes into the playoffs ranked 30th among 4A teams in Max Preps rankings. Don’t count out the Baseball Team especially with big time performances like today’s from Josh Katz.
The DePaul Prep Rams opened the 2021-2022 IHSA 2A Baseball playoffs against the Intrinsic Charter Mustangs. Truth be told, I never heard of Intrinsic Charter. It’s a charter school with two campuses; one in the Loop and one at 4540 West Belmont.
I have to say I was impressed with these players from Intrinsic. There were thirteen of them with two coaches. They knew it would be an uphill climb to get past the Rams. The Rams hung seven on them in the bottom of the first. But the Mustangs didn’t get down. They were enjoying themselves. Really playing for the love of the game. Some of them must have been playing their last organized baseball game ever and they were going to enjoy it. One has to respect that.
That being said, the Rams were just hitting the baseball—crushing the baseball. Anthony Martinez had a homerun, a single and two triples. Had he stopped at second base on his fifth inning triple, he would have hit for the cycle. The other guys were hitting the ball too. There were long home runs into the parking lots.
The Rams scored 16 runs in five innings. To their credit, the Mustangs scored four runs on some nicely struck extra base hits.
The Rams advance to face Timothy Christian on Saturday in the Regional Final at 4:00 p.m. at Kerry Wood Field. Get there early. There will be a big crowd.
As for the photos, I pushed the shutter speed. While there was still some daylight, I was shooting at 1/2000. The resulting extra high ISO made the photos pretty grainy with pretty tight crops I put on. I was playing around with the settings to come up with a good baseball formula. I hope you like the photos.
I went over to Winnemac Park on Tuesday afternoon to see the Amundsen Vikings varsity baseball team take on the Pritzker Jaguars. The Vikings have put together an impressive 15-6 record this season. I haven’t been shooting much baseball so I really wanted to get out and see them.
Plus, I have been following the saga of the soggy condition of the Winnemac Park field and the efforts of the coaches, parents and administration to get the Park District, CPS and the local politicians to address the problem. The Winnemac Park baseball diamond needs a facelift. It doesn’t have to be Kerry Wood Field but some turf new backstops and proper drainage have to get done.
Tons of action right out of the gate. Vikings Senior left hander Konnor Kasek got into some early trouble loading the bases in the top of the first with nobody out. He battled his way out giving up only two runs.
The Vikings fought back in the next two frames taking a 5-4 lead at the bottom of the second.
Unfortunately, I could not stay for the whole game, just too much going on these days. In fact, I could not find the final score on Game Changer or Max Preps. But I was glad to finally see the Vikings. They are just not getting enough attention for as good a team as they are. I am going to have to get in the ear of Mike Clark at the Sun-Times.
I plan to get over to see Amundsen play St. Patrick in the playoffs. It will be like going back sixteen hundred years to see Norse warriors invade the Emerald Isle to vanquish the unsuspecting celts.
I took these photos at DePaul Prep’s Spring Fling fundraiser on Friday evening at the Rockwell on the River. DePaul Prep’s advancement director Amy Golden graciously met me at the space a week before the event so I could see what I would be dealing with and get a few test shots and get a sense of what they wanted.
I knew multiple flashes would be needed. I watched as many You Tube videos as I could stomach on flash photography at weddings. So glad I did. I got a good sense of how many flashes I would need, where to place them and most importantly, how to sync them.
I rented two Canon 600EX II-RT speedlites and an umbrella reflector for the backdrop photos.
The photos turned out better than I expected. The color of the light in the dining room was a challenge but that is what the room looked like—an orangey red bath that makes the non-flash photos look dopey. That might be nice to eat dinner by but hey people, it’s not good for photos. Let’s all just get our priorities straight here folks.
However, I am very pleased with the backdrop photos. Maybe a little over exposed but I like them that way. Since these are primarily for the web, the nice bright photos work well. At least I think so.
I hope you like them.
I would like to thank wonderful people at DePaul Prep for their trust in me. I have been very lucky that the let me photograph their events. I have been able to gain tremendous experience in a short period of time. DePaul Prep is a wonderful school with wonderful people. My children went to school there and loved it.
