DIDDY'S SON JUSTIN IS PLAYING IN A HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!

Justin Combs' father threw him a 16th birthday party that he'll never forget.
His father rented the posh M2 nightclub in Manhattan, and pulled strings to have Nicki Minaj - regarded as the hottest female rapper in hip-hop today and seemingly every schoolboy's crush - be his date.

To top it all off, his father presented him with a brand new car, a Maybach, and the whole extravaganza was captured for MTV's "My Super Sweet 16" show last December.

Justin's dad is hip-hop mogul Sean (Diddy) Combs.

But the red-carpet treatment that Justin received on his birthday doesn't translate to his high school football career at Iona Prep.

There, the junior cornerback and backup quarterback has had to grind his way up coach Vic Quirolo's ranks just as everyone else. His royal hip-hop lineage means nothing.

"He's just one of the guys," said Quirolo, who's in his seventh season. "You don't look at him like (Diddy's son) at all. I don't think he's wanted any special treatment. He's down to earth."

Justin worked his way up, from quarterback on the freshman squad to JV as a sophomore, before earning a spot on the varsity as corner and playing back-up in the pocket.

Ask Justin, and he says he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I don't want to be treated different from anyone else," said Justin, who was joined at his party by his teammates. "I want to have the same treatment. I love exactly the way (Quirolo) put me through everything because it taught me just to work hard to move up the ranks and it taught me life lessons."

What does his Diddy think about his son's football aspirations?

Justin says his dad loves them and is very much the average football father.

"He'll yell, ‘Back up Justin, back up! Be more aggressive, catch that!'" Justin says. "He has even trained with me."

How does that go?

"He can't hang with me," he said with a smirk, exhibiting the showmanship his dad is known for. "He tries, though."

Justin is actually following in his dad's early footsteps. Diddy too played cornerback, but at Mt. St. Michael, before his gridiron dreams were dashed due to injury.

"He wanted to go to the NFL, but he broke his leg his senior season, so his dreams got shut down," Justin said. "So I'm living them for him right now. He just says, ‘Cherish every moment and every play and go as hard as you can.'"

Diddy didn't return phone calls from the Daily News.

Of course, life after football wasn't too bad for Diddy. He created his Bad Boy recording imprint, steered the careers of Mary J. Blige, the Notorious B.I.G. and others, ushered in his own clothing line, made himself a mainstay on Forbes' annual celebrity power lists and even created a restaurant and named it Justin's after his son.

Saturday in New Rochelle, Justin helped No. 2 Iona Prep score a 45-17 victory over third-seeded Holy Trinity in the CHSFL semifinals. The Gaels advance to meet defending league champion St. Anthony's in the final this weekend.

"We want that game so bad," Justin said.

Whatever happens in the championship, Justin figures to play a key role as a returning starter for the Gaels next season, though Quirolo says he isn't sure whether he'll slot him at quarterback or wideout or keep him at corner.

"He's more of a cover corner," Quirolo said of the junior. "The physicality of the game, he has to work on a bit, but he's a solid football player. We probably should have had him on offense this year as a receiver type, because he really is a nifty kind of runner. He's elusive. He's one of those guys that the game comes natural. He belongs on the field."

Like his dad, one can say Justin is one Bad Boy.