There are many components that help define DePaul Prep such as clubs, athletics, and even the student section. The student section at the football games will be at the bleachers cheering for the Rams and supporting them, but only until halftime. 

By halftime, most of the student section has already left the game, leaving empty stands with a game still going on. The purpose of the student section is to support and cheer on the team, but by the time halftime comes around, there are about 15-25 students remaining. 

Coach Passarella is the head football coach and PE teacher and has been working at DePaul Prep for five years. He believes that the student section is “lacking in support,” but isn’t sure why they leave. The student section had a good turnout in the beginning of the year, but over time, fizzled out and people didn’t stick around. 

Augustus Donohue, quarterback and tight end for the DePaul Prep football team gets “great vibes for the first half of the game, but in the second half, everybody is out and living their life.” 

According to Coach Pass, having a student section gives them a chance to be another piece of the program and to have a “sense of energy.” 

James Kolpak is a team manager for the DePaul Prep football team and said that students have many social obligations besides football games and feels like “everyone sets their schedule and everyone has a time frame where they can do certain things.” 

Kolpak mentioned that it’s hard, especially for seniors, to stay for games because of colleges and applications and feels like “they should prioritize that.”

Last year, the student section was “really positive and engaged,” said Coach Pass. The student section stuck around for the entire game and they got loud and helped the team. 

Last year, since Donohue didn’t play football, he was one of the people that left at halftime during the football games. 

“I didn’t really care if we won or lost, I felt like I was there to talk and meet people and make friends,” said Donohue. 

Now as a player, he does get more energy when there is an active student section, but understands why they leave. 

“Not that the football game is bad, there are other opportunities in their lives and life is stressful and they got to do what they got to do,” Donohue adds.

When it comes to school spirit, DePaul Prep doesn’t lack it. Anytime there was a theme, students would show up to games in theme and support the team. “I feel like if there wasn’t school spirit, people wouldn’t show up or be in theme,” Kolpak added. When the theme was pink out, he noticed that everyone was participating in the theme. 

Coach Pass believes that the students want to be a part of the excitement as well as feel a sense of belonging. He knows that there is a lot of positivity when it comes to athletics and that the students become “really involved and invested.”

Although there are few students left at the end of the game, Donohue “isn’t going to be picky” and is grateful for the twenty people that stay and he feels “supported by them and we get the job done regardless.”

Even though there is a lack of the student section, the team is coming off with many big wins this season. The team won a game against Fenwick even though it was cold and rainy. They’ve also had big wins against Notre Dame, Amundsen, and many others. 

Coach Pass believes that the team has a lot of “self motivation and a sense of believing to be successful” with or without the support of the student section.