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Palatine gets it right

Palatine new it would be facing Schaumburg's best shot as the Pirates pursued an outright Mid-Suburban West football championship.

And sure enough, the Saxons, last year' West winner, made the Pirates earn their title for 48 minutes in a rousing 45-35 contest in Palatine on Friday night.

"It's been a great year for these players and for the program, winning the conference title," said Palatine coach Rick Splitt. "The seniors set the goal for themselves, and after a tough start to the season they responded."

Seven different players put points on the board for Palatine (7-2, 5-0), which had a 1-2 record after Week 3 of this season.

The Pirates went ahead 7-0 on Christopher Cornelius' 1-yard run with 2:01 left in the first quarter to cap a 78-yard drive. Cornelius keyed the drive with a 53-yard run and finished with 121 in 14 attempts. But Cornelius left the game in the late stages of the third quarter after a jarring tackle.

Jordan Irwin, who had a fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff, made the score 13-0 on a 30-yard interception return. The score came with 9:23 left in the second quarter.

Schaumburg (1-8, 0-5) closed to 13-7 with 8:17 left in the first half on quarterback a 29-yard touchdown pass from Alex Kiszkowski's (8-for-14, 1 interception, 103 yards) to Jarman McMillon. McMillon had 5 receptions for 75 yards and returned a fourth-quarter kick off for 82 yards for another Saxons score.

Palatine eased away at halftime to lead 28-7. Quarterback Nick Orlando scored from the 8 with 2:54 left in the half. Orlando (7-for-19, 1 interception, 128 yards) found Joey Roy with a 20-yard pass with :55 left in the half.

Schaumburg pulled within 28-14 when Justice Macneal-Young scored from the 4 with 5:02 left in the third quarter. Macneal-Young (29 carries, 132 yards) tallied twice more in the game's final 2:39.

Dionte Neustadtler picked up the sloack for Cornelius with a 24-yard touchdown on the first play of the quarter. Neustadtler gained 116 yards on 12 carries.

Place kicker Michael Hilmer added a 22-yard field goal for a 38-20 lead before Nicholas Cervenka scampered in from the 7.

"If we're going to make a run in the playoffs," said Orlando, "we have to clean up the offense. That falls to me. I have to make sure everyone is in position. This was a good team win for us. I don't think it's a surprise that we're here. We made some big plays when we had to. Our offensive line was more physical in the second half and opened the lanes for the runners."

"We wanted to have fun in our last game and we wanted the seniors to have pride," said Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling. "I thought we played our tails off."

"This win was a big accomplishment for the seniors and this team," said Irwin who also had 6 tackles. "We got our title and no one can say it was a fluke. We beat good teams."

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