DePaul Prep finally got over the hump Friday night.

The Rams had come so close to pulling off a win that coach Mike Passarella thought would finally help his program take its next step since taking over five years ago. DePaul needed double overtime, but the Rams cleared the hurdle in a 44-43 win over Fenwick.

“We’ve been so close and just kind of fell short in some big games, especially this season and last year,” Passarella said. “Being able to get it was just a proud moment for me but more importantly for the kids because they deserved it.”

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Passarella started to have hope Friday could finally be the program-changing game once the Friars missed a field goal attempt at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. Both teams exchanged touchdowns during the first overtime period before Fenwick converted to take a 43-36 lead.

Running back Titus Bautista scored to make it a 43-42 lead and Passarella decided to go for two. Quarterback Fernando “JuJu” Rodriguez found Bradon Peevy in the end zone to give the Rams the win they’ve been waiting for.

Passarella said close losses to Providence and Marian Catholic this season helped DePaul win Friday. The Rams used their experiences from those games and a Week 7 win over Niles Notre Dame to make winning plays.

“When you learn how to come out on top, how to fight through it, you get the opportunity to be successful,” Passarella said. “You start to see that change a little bit, especially with what happened the other night.”

Passarella said his captains for getting the Rams to this point. Danny Kelly has led the way defensively as the team’s safety/hybrid backer along with Michael Bloom while Rodriguez, Peevy and Bloom have all produced offensively.

“We’ve been so close and just kind of fell short in some big games, especially this season and last year. Being able to get it was just a proud moment for me but more importantly for the kids because they deserved it.”

—  Mike Passarella, DePaul Prep coach

Despite the win, it doesn’t mean much if they don’t beat De La Salle on Friday in order to get to 5-4 and qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2013. Passarella doesn’t plan on changing much as the Rams try to ride momentum into the postseason.

“If we do what we need to do and we continue to work and build on what we’ve built these last three weeks, we’re going to be fine,” Passarella said. “We just need to execute and we’ll be OK.”

Roadrunners one win away from improbable

Nazareth is one win away from pulling off the improbable for a second straight season.

The Roadrunners won their fourth straight game Friday when they beat Marian 42-13 on Friday and will try to make the playoffs against St. Francis on Friday after starting the season 0-4. Nazareth won the Class 5A state title last season after starting the year 2-4.

Coach Tim Racki and his team haven’t changed their approach of improving each game after their winless start.

“It’s not different than it was when we were 0-4,” Racki said. “We knew where we were at and what we had to do. We knew what we were doing well and the self-inflicted wounds holding us back.”

Nazareth started the season with losses to Kankakee, York, Montini and IC Catholic before topping St. Ignatius, Fenwick, Brother Rice and the Spartans.

Racki said the Roadrunners have gained more confidence with each win. The returning players from last season’s championship team leaned on their experiences from last year at the start of the four-game winning streak, but now they’re focused on finishing off the improbable against the Spartans.

“I think if we keep stacking each phase of the game together, playing complementary football, which we have been doing the past month,” Racki said. “Hopefully things go our way.”

Crusaders’ adjusted defense

Brother Rice is trying to make a final push into the playoffs after overhauling much of its defense because of injuries.

The Crusaders (4-4) have played without junior linebacker Christian Pierce, who is out for the season with an injury and has offers from schools including Ohio State, Louisville, Texas, Michigan and Illinois. Defensive tackle Dominic Pettenon and defensive lineman Matt Whelan have also missed time with injuries.

“That’s what football is all about,” Brother Rice coach Casey Quedenfeld said. “We’re trying to make sure we’re doing things the right way in terms of not taking kids away from the sophomore team because they’re having great success since their freshman year trying to keep them together, but at the end of the day, we need to be successful on the varsity.”

Quedenfeld said the coaching staff has tried to communicate with the younger players to make sure they pay attention to the details and know what’s going on.

“It’s just getting guys to buy into one play at a time, one moment at a time and the smallest details matter the most,” Quedenfeld said.

Broncos looking for complete game

Montini coach Mike Bukovsky is looking for consistency heading into the final week of the regular season and the start of the playoffs.

“We haven’t played a complete game yet,” Bukovsky said. “We’re just hoping now we can get over that hump and do what we need to do.”

The Broncos couldn’t keep up against Brother Rice on Friday because penalties derailed their drives. Bukovsky doesn’t thing any changes can be made at this point in the season, players just need to perform.

“We are who we are at this point,” Bukovsky said. “We just need to execute better.”

Wolfpack streak alive

St. Ignatius kept the third-longest CCL/ESCC playoff streak alive when the Wolfpack picked up their fifth win of the season against St. Viator on Friday. The program has been in the postseason each year since 2015.

The Wolfpack will now try to win an outright Green division title when they play Joliet Catholic on Friday.