Palatine bounces back strong, dumps Buffalo Grove
The Palatine defense and offense were very complementary to one another Thursday night at Chic Anderson Stadium.
The Pirates’ aggressive defense in the second half set up some quick-strike touchdowns as Palatine topped Buffalo Grove 38-7 in a Mid-Suburban League crossover football game.
“After last week’s loss, we really wanted to get the momentum back,” said Palatine linebacker Brad Bauer. “We had a good week of practice. To win, we had to swarm the field and stop their good option quarterback (Andrew Apel). We were able to give the offense the ball in good field position, and they got the ball into the end zone.”
“I can’t say enough the defense,” added Pirates running back Chaka Kelly. “They helped us out in getting the ball and we were able to make the plays to get the ball into the end zone.”
The Pirates (2-1) covered 68 yards in 12 plays to score on the first of Kelly’s 3 touchdowns, a 9-yard run on the opening drive.
A Nicck Orlando pass (8-for-17, 100 yards) to Eric Theis (4 receptions. 76 yards) for 37 yards on third-and-25 from the Pirate 47 set up the touchdown.
Brian Burton made the score 10-0 with 2:56 left in the first quarter with a 31-yard field goal. Burton also kicked 5 extra points.
The Bison (1-2) held the Pirates for the rest of the half.
“We talked to the line at halftime,” said Kelly, who ran for 125 yards in 16 attempts. “They just needed to adjust their blocking.”
While Palatine’s first drive of the third quarter stalled at BG’s 20, the Pirates scored 4 touchdowns in their next five plays.
Kelly sliced through the defense on a 54-yard run with 3:51 left in the third quarter for a 17-0 lead. Kelly scored again, this time from 15 yard line after Joshua Mackie’s punt return of 29 yards, for a 24-0 lead. Mackie’s 17-yard return set the table for Christopher Cornelius’ 33 yard touchdown pass from Orlando and a 31-0 lead. Mackie returned the ensuing punt 14 yards which set up Nicholas Cervenka’s 31-yard run for a 38-0 lead.
Other Pirate defenders who stood out were Alan Herrera, Kevin Tragesser, Steven Smearman, River Crane, Mackie and Vincent Serio.
Buffalo Grove quarterback Apel, who rushed for 44 yards, scored on a 6-yard run with 4:55 left in the game.
The Bison picked up 122 yards of offense to the Pirates’ 338.
The Bison should get two-way performer Scott Smithern back next week. He missed the last two games with a back injury suffered in the opener against Leyden.
“We really ran the ball well in the second half,” said Palatine coach Rick Splitt. “The second half we came out with a good defensive surge. The team took last week’s loss bad and they wanted to bounce back.”