A season of change for ‘young’ Palatine
Palatine will need to deal with lots of changes this football season.
First among them will be new head coach Rick Splitt. He’s taking over for Tyler Donnelly, who stepped down for health reasons.
But even more difficult may be how to replace 19 starting spots from a Palatine team that won the Mid-Suburban West for a second straight year and advanced to the state quarterfinals.
“Last year was phenomenal,” said Splitt, who was the team’s defensive coordinator last fall. “The kids and the program are all excited because they were all here. They just want to keep it going.”
Splitt will have his own adjustment, as he acclimates to being a head coach. But he feels his transition will go smoothly.
“There are a lot more clerical things I have to worry about,” Splitt said. “But that’s OK. I am excited to be here.”
And so is Palatine, which returns just three starters from last year, two on offense and one on defense.
Chaka Kelly returns at running back while 6-foot-3 Eric Theis, who had a solid year last year, will be back at wide receiver. Brad Bauer, who played cornerback last year, slides up to anchor the defense at linebacker.
“We are young,” Split said. “We lost a lot of seniors (17). We have seniors playing for us this year, but unfortunately they did not get a lot of playing time last year. We were so senior-dominated. So when I say we are young, that’s what I am saying. It’s in experience.”
The Pirates will continue their under 15-second offense, where they look to get the play in and ball snapped quickly. Nick Orlando, who started at quarterback on the sophomore level last year, takes over reins at quarterback.
With two skill players returning, Orlando will also have sophomore Joey Roy, who has impressed coaches with his ability to catch the ball and block downfield. Chris Stein and Cameron Cornelius will also play wide receiver.
The Pirates’ offensive line is small, yet stout. Carsten Anderson (6-3, 250), Ron Rouette (5-11, 250), Brandon Han (5-11, 250), Kevin Clark (5-10, 180), Mark Scherer (5-11, 235) and Tom Becker (5-10, 215 pounds) figure to making the plays up front this season.
“We play will still play fast,” Splitt said. “We will play the hurry-up pace. That’s what we are doing. We have been doing it that this way for years and we will continue to keep it going.”
With Bauer leading the way, the Pirates will look to keep their opponents off the field in their 4-3 defense.
Anderson and Becker, along with Steve Smearman, River Crane and E. J. Miller will be part of the defensive front. Bauer will get help from Vincent Serio and Kevin Tragesser at the linebacking position. Jason Lemonidis, Andrew Bohlman, Josh Mackie and Mikalos Jackson will all be part of the defensive backfield that will be looking to shut down the opponent’s passing game.
“We will be being the same stuff we have been doing forever here on defense,” said Splitt, who was the defensive coordinator and will continue to call the plays on that side of the ball. “I am still doing the defense. I just may pay a little more attention though when we have the ball.”