The DePaul Prep Rams (15-2, 6-0) defeated the Deerfield High School Warriors 55-25 in the final game of the second annual Steve Pappas Shootout Saturday evening (January 11, 2020). It wasn’t that close.
The Rams handled the Warriors from the opening tip. The Rams defensive pressure gave Deerfield fits. They had trouble moving the ball. DePaul’s Tyler Johnson repeatedly picket the pocket of the Warriors’ point guard like he was a gypsy in a Paris subway. The Rams finished on the offensive end as well.
I guess I was expecting Deerfield to be better. Maybe I was just expecting a competitive game because the preceding games were so good. I seem to remember some pre-season talk that Deerfield was good and that it would be a contender with its move to 3A. Deerfield will be in the Grayslake Sectional and will have to contend with Notre Dame, St. Viator and St. Patrick; not likely to be Deerfield’s year.
It was just Tom Kleinschmidt’s Rams taking care of business—as usual. I guess I expected that this year’s Rams would not be a good as last year’s 3A third place finishers with stars like Perry Cowen, Raheem Anthony and Pavle Pantovic. The record to date suggests otherwise. At this point last year, the Rams were 13-4, pretty good. This year’s group is 15-2 with wins over ranked teams Niles North and Marian Catholic. The Rams opened the season ranked #21 and are #11 at the moment.
Coming up the Rams enter the meat of the schedule including all seven games in the Chicago Catholic League Blue: St. Francis de Sales, Montini, Peoria Manuel, St. Laurence, Brother Rice, Benet, St. Joseph, De La Salle, Fenwick, Loyola, St. Ignatius and Mather.
“I’ve said it before and I will say it again,” win the Catholic League.
