DePaul Prep Defeats Timothy Christian 7-3 to Win 2A Sectional Championship

The DePaul Prep Rams got ahead early and stayed away to take another sectional championship 7-3 over Timothy Christian and advance to face Byron in the super-sectional on Memorial Day.

With a huge crowd on hand at Montini, the DePaul Prep Rams (22-14) took on the Timothy Christian Trojans (17-15). The Rams were the visiting team. That’s okay; it just gave the chance to grab an early lead.

And so they did. In the top of the first, with one out, Vance Kurokowa walked. Oliver Vigerust singled. Kevin O’Connor walked. Griffin Horne singled. Vance scored. Beni Espinosa singled. Shane Leonard, the runner for Vigerust, scored. Kevin O’Connor scored. C. Klein singled. Michael Bloom, the runner for Griffin Home, scored. Carter Levine struck out. Addison Latko struck out. So that’s four runs in the first. 

Dylan Kaminski had a four-run lead before he took the mound. That’s not a good idea for Timothy Christian to spot Dylan four runs.

In the bottom of the first, Dylan set down the first two hitters. But walked the third hitter on four pitches. He would struggle with control all day. The Trojans’ J. Armstrong absolutely crushed Dylan’s third pitch well over the fence in right-center. Lots of action in the first.

The Rams added one in the second then gave one back in the bottom of the fifth on a curious balk call with a man on third base.

“I was just trying it over the plate. They were kind of smacking me. My curve ball was not working against their two hitter. I slowed down a little bit. Once the bases were loaded I knew we had this on the line. I just wanted to lock it in and just get it down,” Dylan Kaminski told me about that fifth inning.

“I was a little tired but persevered and got through it.”

But it was Addison Latko’s tremendous homerun in the top of the seventh that put the game away. On a 3-2 count, Timothy Christian reliever J. Armstrong served one up and out over the plate. Latko absolutely crushed it out onto 16th Street. Two runs in. 7-3. With AJ Garcia in for Kaminski, that was pretty much it.

“I was locked in from the start. I was ready in that a bat, the adrenaline. Everybody yelling chirps at me. The crowd talking. Everything was good. I loved it. It fueled me to just get up there and hit that homerun,” Addison Latko said, hardly able to contain himself.

“It was a fast ball and I hit fast ball. I love fast balls. That’s my favorite pitch to hit. So I just took a drive. Let it in the zone and big dog is gonna eat. That’s what happened baby.”

A convincing win for the Rams. A sectional championship in hand, in curiously workmanlike fashion. Another day at the office.

And another day at the office on Monday in the Super-sectional against Byron High School. Interestingly, this will be the second super-sectional match up for a Rams team in the last couple months. In March, the DePaul Prep girls basketball lost a super-sectional game to Byron in Elgin.

This Rams baseball team will face a 25-6 Byron baseball team in Rockford on Monday, Memorial Day, at 1:00 p.m., at the Rockford Rivets Stadium.

DePaul Prep Defeats Notre Dame 35-25

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the Notre Dame Dons 35-25 in the Battle of the Bridge Thanksgiving Tournament semi-final. It was the first test of the new young Rams. It turned out to be a test of the Dons.

The game started slowly . . . really slowly. The Dons moved the ball around well but didn’t shoot the ball. When they did shoot, they weren’t good shots. And they got no second chances.

The Rams weren’t much better. They moved the ball around well enough and got some shots up. Most did not fall. And they got no second chances either.

It was Rams 4, Dons 0 at the end of the first quarter. I don’t remember such a score in a game with two solid teams. At least not since my days coaching the 5th grade St. Benedict Bengals.

The Rams and their senior guard and playmaker Maurice Thomas started scoring in the second quarter. The Don’s finally scored with 2:21 left in the half when sophomore forward Brady Sanhorst drained a long three. 15-3 Rams at the half.

It was a pretty normal second half. Both teams were running the floor and scoring. But the damage to Notre Dame was done. Only on the rarest of occasions does a Tom Kleinschmidt team give up a large lead. Tonight was not such an occasion.

Final—Rams 35, Dons 25.

Kevin Clancy and his Dons will be better than they showed tonight. I wrote on Instagram yesterday that it’s a strange new basketball world that we find ourselves in. Tonight produced more evidence supporting such a conclusion.

DePaul Prep will face Niles North in the Battle of the Bridge championship game against Niles North at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

As for the photos, I am not publishing as many as I have in the past. I used a new camera setup. A Canon 5D Mark IV with a 50mm, f1.8, prime lens at a lower ISO than normal in addition to my regular camera. I just wanted to see what I could get with that setup. I came up with bigger, richer files but the photos are not particularly good. A 50mm lens at a basketball game is pretty useless.

I got a great shot of Johnny “Mas” Maciaszkiewicz, DePaul Prep’s legendary scorekeeper.

It was great to see Paul Chabura and Shay Boyle. Just two great men. I just think the world of both of them.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I know I have a great deal to be thankful for this year.

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.

Notre Dame Survives at St. Patrick, 52-45

I was at St. Patrick Tuesday evening for the ESCC showdown between #5 Notre Dame and #10 St. Patrick. St. Patrick is tough place for a road team. The last Gordon Tech basketball game ever was March 7, 2014. It ended in a 59-39 loss for the Rams at St. Patrick. That home crowd is tough.

Not the same this year. Not the same home crowd but still very tough. St. Pat’s has an excellent team this year they and gave the Don’s all they could handle.

The Dons jumped out to a 5-0 lead early in the first quarter but never could break it open.

The Shamrocks pulled off a 15 to 9 run and grabbed a brief 32-31 lead at the 6:01 mark of the fourth quarter.

The #5 ranked Dons are a tough, well coached veteran group with three division one recruits. When they got the lead up to about five, Kevin Clancy went into a stall trusting his players to make the free throws.

They did. Anthony Sayles went eight for eight at the line.

Behind the leadership of the three division one recruits, Anthony Sayles (17 points), Louis Lesmond (14 points) and Troy D’Amico (11) points, the Dons regained the lead and held on to win 52-45. Notre Dame’s Sonny Williams added 8 points and Frank Lynch, (nephew of Chicago’s Sulzer Library librarian and 47th Ward resident, Julie Lynch), had 2 points.

Team Rose Shootout 2019

It was a busy weekend of basketball. Whitney Young v. Lincoln Park and DePaul Prep v. Providence on Friday night. Then the Team Rose Shootout on Saturday and Sunday.

I love the Team Rose Shootout. It has a real gym-rat feel. The Chicago Elite Classic is fancy. Wintrust has fabulous light. But for pure basketball pleasure, the Team Rose Shootout is it. So many knowledgeable people to talk to. So many good players and good teams. Had some blowouts but all well played games.

Of the 900 games (14 actually), I got to see six. I really wanted to see Bloom and Orr, neither of whom I had not seen yet this year. Bloom is something—big and athletic. Well deserving of their #1 status. Orr looked really good. Evanston was just too good for the Spartans. The Wildkits handled Orr’s pressure. Not many others could. Orr will be there for the CPS championships.

I got to see Leo in advance of the Friday’s Chicago Catholic League game against DePaul Prep. And St. Laurence too. I like to see as many Chicago Catholic League teams as I can. I still haven’t seen Fenwick. It will be strange to see St. Joe’s without Gene Pingatore.

Notre Dame amazed me with a huge win over an extremely talented Bogan Begals squad. I still don’t know how they did that. Troy D’Amico played two positions at once. He was bringing the ball over the time line and then passing it to himself under the basket to score.

Okay, I know everybody contributed—Louis Lesmond, Jason Bergstrom, Jimmy Murphy, Frank Lynch and Mac Ross all made it happen without Anthony Sayles.

And the inspired coaching from Kevin Clancy and Shay Boyle. They had the Dons ready and did not fold under the intense pressure from Bogan. It was an interesting move to put D’Amico at point guard after the rash of turnovers. And the murderer’s row schedule too. As a St. Viator grad, I am not one to say nice things about the Notre Dame Dons if I can help it. But I have to take my St. Viator baseball cap off to them. It was very gutsy to put this schedule together and even more impressive to go out and back it up with high quality wins.

I couldn’t speed a lot of time there on Saturday so I missed OPRF and Stevenson. I will get to see Stevenson at the Hinsdale Holiday Classic coming up.

Michael O’Brien wrote in the paper today (or maybe it was Twitter) that the season is one quarter over. It seems like it just started to me. It has been very enjoyable so far.

Well, on to the Christmas tournaments.

Photos from:

Tinley Park v. Schaumburg

Bloom v. St. Laurence

Leo v. Kenwood

Notre Dame v. Bogan

Orr v. Evanston

Evanston Defeats Notre Dame 62-53 in Chicago Elite Classic

The #9 Evanston Wildkits (5-0) came into Friday night’s game at the 2019 Chicago Elite Classic against the #7 Notre Dame Dons (5-1) ready. The Wildkits have been in big games against good teams before. But this time, they were a little pissed off.

It was not a hot anger. The simmered. It seems like a Mike Ellis kind of anger—quiet, determined, deadly. They never jumped out to a big lead; they just held the Dons at bay throughout the game eventually winning 62-53. The Wildkits scored on their first possession and trailed by one for all of 24 seconds early in the first quarter. After that, it was a methodical take down.

Interestingly, the Wildkits slowed the tempo and showed patience moving the ball around the floor. I guess I was expecting the Kits to run against the bigger Dons. Maybe they wanted to but ND is too good to give up a ton of points in transition. The Wildkits only scored eight fast break points.

Evanston coach Mike Ellis had his team ready. “I thought these guys were so steady,” said Ellis after the game. “Notre Dame never went on a run.”   

But it was not as if the Notre Dame Dons were not ready. The Dons are a very talented team with any obvious weakness. The starting line-up of Louis Lesmond, Anthony Sayles, Troy D’Amico, Jason Bergstrom and Jimmy Murphy and Frank Lynch off the bench leaves little to be desired. The Dons are a clear contender for a state championship in 3A. Notre Dame third year head coach Kevin Clancy has taken the Dons to another level. (Interestingly, the Dons face great competition in the East Suburban Catholic League, but that’s a subject for another day.)

It just seemed that when the Dons would score, Evanston would answer.

There might have been a little more too it.

“That one was the first game I marked on the schedule,” said Evanston junior forward Blake Peters. “We haven’t gotten the press like other teams.”

The much-reported transfer of the French-born Notre Dame junior forward Louis Lesmond from Evanston to Notre Dame over the summer was definitely on the minds of the all concerned. I have to think that this served as part of the motivation for the Wildkits. After the game, Blake Peters downplayed his familiarity with Lesmond and his game, but it seemed quiet evident to me. Despite Lesmond leading the Dons with 15 points, Louis never took over the game like he did against DePaul Prep in the Battle of the Bridge championship game a week earlier.

 “They played harder than us,” said ND’s Anthony Sayles. “We weren’t as conditioned as them.” I am not buying it. Anthony Sayles was a little too hard on himself and his team after the game. I didn’t see signs of a lack of effort or signs of fatigue.

The Evanston shots fell. The Kits were determined and ready. ND played sound defense with tons of effort. Nevertheless, after a good defensive stand by ND, the Wildkits shots fell.

I am really looking forward to seeing more of these teams.

As for the photos, what can I say? The Wintrust Arena has the best light of any high school venue in the City—period. The best.

Frankly, I was not as focused on maximizing the light as much as I was on composing the pictures and telling a good story with the photos. It was pretty standard settings but I was able to drop the ISO pretty low because of the amount and quality of the white light.

I hope you like the photos.

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.