DePaul Prep rallies to qualify for playoffs for first time since 2015: Week 6 CCL/ESCC notes

DePaul Prep coach Mike Passarella didn’t doubt his team would find a way to win Friday’s game against St. Viator when the Rams trailed heading into the fourth quarter.

Far from it.

The Rams exuded confidence throughout the year to run out to a 4-1 start to the season. That continued Friday when DePaul Prep scored 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win 39-20, earning the program its first playoff appearance since 2015 and second under the school’s current name.

“They know how to battle in these moments,” Passarella said. “They know how to fight, they’re scrappy and they know how to finish.”

That finish capped a slow climb for Passarella and the program in its return to the playoffs. The Rams last reached the postseason in 2015 under Bill Jeske when the program went 6-5 and lost in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.

DePaul made steady progress under Passarella when he took over in 2019. The Rams went 3-6 during his first season then 2-4 during the COVID-19-shortened spring 2021 season. They followed that up with 2-7, 3-6, 4-5 records, respectively, before finally getting over the hump Friday.

Passarella said the Rams’ returning seniors were motivated after missing a chance to qualify last season when they lost to De La Salle in Week 9. They provided the leadership needed to accomplish one of their goals.

“Being able to solidify it in Week 6, it helped us take the load off the shoulder because we knew we kept inching closer every single year,” Passarella said. “These kids worked really hard and they earned it and deserved it.”

Although DePaul is back in the playoffs, Passerella said his team is motivated to not be content and continue their run. The Rams will try to improve their playoff seeding against Carmel, St. Francis and Benet and compete for a CCL/ESCC Purple title against the Redwings.

“They know how to battle in these moments. They know how to fight, they’re scrappy and they know how to finish.”

—  Mike Passarella, DePaul Prep coach

But the Rams also appreciated what they accomplished by returning to the playoffs and what it meant for the program and the school community.

“The student body is behind us, the community is behind us,” Passarella said. “It just means so much from that front that we have something in the fall that attracts a lot of attention, that we can build on.”

Brother Rice finishes a win

Brother Rice broke through in more ways than one in its win over Mount Carmel on Friday. The Crusaders put together a drive in the final minute of the game that put them in position to make a game-winning field goal.

The moment felt like a long time coming after Brother Rice lost three straight games against Marist, St. Rita and Loyola in the final minutes. Crusaders coach Casey Quedenfeld was happy that his team found a way to win a game with it holding possession late.

“It feels good to get in the win column,” Quedenfeld said. “But more importantly it feels good that what we practice, especially in that last drive, it came to fruition.”

Quedenfeld is hoping to see continued momentum heading into the final third of the season with some aspects of the game he wants Brother Rice to improve upon. Despite the win Friday, the Crusaders still struggled to get out of third-and-long situations defensively. They also failed to convert on opportunities deep into their opponent’s territory.

The Brother Rice coaching staff is searching for different ways to fix traits that could help the Crusaders compete at the level they expect.

“We’re looking forward to fixing our mistakes that we’ve had since the beginning,” Quedenfeld said. “We’re just trying to look at different ways, different angles to fix those things.”

Brother Rice will have at least three more chances to show improvement before the end of the regular season as it tries to qualify for the playoffs at 3-3. The Crusaders finish the year against Niles Notre Dame, St. Laurence and St. Ignatius, respectively.

Quedenfeld is looking forward to the Crusaders building confidence as they continue to stack wins.

“Each win allows our young men to gain a little bit more confidence,” Quedenfeld said. “Not only in themselves, but each other and the coaching so that it best prepares them for these last three games because each one is extremely important.”

Fenwick flying high under the radar

Fenwick might be one of the best 5-1 teams in the state that few people are talking about. That’s just fine with Friars coach Matt Battaglia.

“I know I don’t care and I tell the players they shouldn’t care either,” Battaglia said. “I just remind them each day, we’re just working to get better each day. Every week in this conference is going to be a tough game.”

The Friars have quietly put together a strong season through two-thirds of the season. They beat Oak Park-River Forest (30-0), St. Ignatius (34-24), Montini (14-10) and St. Laurence (37-15) with their lone loss coming against Joliet Catholic (14-13). Fenwick picked up a forfeit win against De La Salle after it suspended the rest of its season.

Getting to win No. 5 was a point of emphasis for Fenwick after missing the playoffs last season with a 4-1 start. Battaglia said the players and coaches feel looser after getting over the hump to earn a playoff berth.

“You’ve got a team who’ve been working together hard for the last eight months straight essentially,” Battaglia said. “For them to be able to reward them with an experience of being able to compete in the postseason, that’s why we do this as coaches.”

Nazareth’s surging offense

The Roadrunners scored a season-high 45 points in their win over St. Rita on Friday, which included an interception return for a touchdown. Senior quarterback Logan Malachuk thinks his offense can get to another level despite the team’s best showing.

“I definitely think we can get a little better,” Malacuk said. “My part, I think I can do better. We’re rolling, we’re just going to keep it going.”

Malachuk was encouraged after Nazareth’s running game had a strong showing against the Mustangs and what it can mean for the offense’s growth.

“It opens everything open when you have a good run game,” he said. “The defense has to respect that, step down. You saw, in the second half, threw it over the top two or three times and in the fourth quarter we had an eight-minute drive like that. If we’re able to do that, no one can stop us.”

St. Rita takes the positives from loss

Although Mustangs coach Martin Hopkins wasn’t happy to lose an important CCL/ESCC Green game against Nazareth, he did hope the loss would help his team heading into the final stretch of the season.

“I think it’s good to get our eyes opened up a little bit right now before we go down the stretch,” Hopkins said. “We haven’t gotten into the playoffs, we need to get our fifth win. We need to be playing our best football at the end of the year.”