NORMAL — DePaul Prep, the former Gordon Tech, didn’t even have a football field on campus until 2020. Until this season, the Rams hadn’t qualified for the playoffs since 2015.
Things didn’t even go smoothly this season. DePaul Prep lost its last two regular-season games. No one saw this coming.
Even heading into the Class 4A state championship game on Friday, most observers expected Mt. Zion to give the Rams a real challenge.
But DePaul Prep capped off its Cinderella playoff run in style with a 40-6 victory against the Braves on Friday at ISU’s Hancock Stadium.
Senior Nick Martinez scored three touchdowns. He had 19 carries for 100 yards for DePaul and opened the scoring with a four-yard run late in the first quarter.
“I was confident heading into the game,” Martinez said. “I knew the offensive line would give me all the space I needed to run.”
Rams coach Mike Passarella led a shocking turnaround in his seventh season. DePaul Prep won only four games in 2023, three in 2022 and two in 2021. The Rams were winless in 2018.
“We’ve been close the last few years, but there was nothing that could stop these guys,” Passarella said. “They were determined.”
DePaul Prep quarterback JuJu Rodriguez connected with Braden Peevy for a 40-yard touchdown with 1:16 left.
Rodriguez was 5-for-12 for 64 yards. He scored on a 29-yard run to make it 13-0 in the first quarter. Senior Jack West had three catches for 25 yards.
DePaul Prep’s Nick Martinez (3) carries the ball against Mt. Zion during the Class 4A state championship game.
Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times
“We came in with a plan to run the ball,” Rodriguez said. “And we got rolling and were able to take the momentum and put them on their heels and stretch our lead.”
The Rams (11-3) held Mt. Zion (10-4) to 146 yards. Senior safety Charlie Pribyl led DePaul Prep with six tackles.
It’s the first state championship for the school since 1980, when it was Gordon Tech.
“[The stadium] is really important,” Passarella said. “There were just so many logistical things back then like dealing with equipment. Now we are able to get into a routine and operate the way we need to in order to be successful. It has been a huge difference-maker, for sure.”
Private schools won all four championship games Friday. The combined score was 193-28, and there was a running clock in every game.
“We didn’t allow for the stage to be too big for us,” Passarella said. “We were able to control our emotions. I don’t think it makes a difference between the privates and publics. I know that’s going to be talked about because all four were won by private schools. But they are all 16- and 17-year-olds playing out there.”