NORMAL—DePaul Prep finished off its Cinderella playoff run in style on Friday at ISU's Hancock Stadium.
The Rams beat Mt. Zion 40-6 to win the Class 4A state championship.
DePaul Prep lost its last two regular season games before heating up and winning five consecutive games to earn its first state championship since 1980, when it was Gordon Tech.
Rams coach Mike Passarella led a shocking turnaround in his seventh season. DePaul Prep won just four games in 2023, three in 2022 and two in 2021. The Rams were winless in 2018 and had not qualified for the playoffs since 2015.
Senior Nick Martinez scored three touchdowns. He had 19 carries for 100 yards for DePaul, opening the scoring with a 4-yard run late in the first quarter.
DePaul Prep quarterback JuJu Rodriguez connected with Braden Peevy for a 40-yard TD with 1:16 left to play.
Rodriguez was 5-for-12 for 64 yards. He scored on a 29-yard touchdown run to make it 13-0 in the first quarter. Senior Jack West had three catches for 25 yards.
The Rams (11-3) held Mt. Zion (10-4) to 146 total yards. Senior safety Charlie Pribyl led DePaul Prep with six tackles.
It was a sloppy game, with the teams combining for 21 penalties for 195 yards.
This was the first state title game appearance for the Braves.
