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Palatine beats mistake-prone Huntley

Five turnovers.

That was the glaring difference between Palatine and Huntley in their Class 8A playoff matchup in Huntley Saturday afternoon.

The Red Raiders turned the ball over 5 times but could never manage to take it away from the Pirates, leading to a 39-17 Palatine victory.

Senior quarterback Nick Orlando threw 2 touchdown passes to Joey Roy and ran for another score, and receiver/backup quarterback Matt Lamm threw for another TD on a double pass for Palatine (8-2), which will host 10-0 Glenbard West next weekend in the second round.

Without injured tailback Christopher Cornelius, the Pirates put much of the offensive load on Orlando's shoulders, and he responded with 288 passing yards. He added 46 yards on the ground.

“The offense came out a little slow, but the defense got a couple of key turnovers and gave us some light,” said Orlando. “We were able to put some points on the board with the jet sweep and then the double pass. We practiced it and practiced it, but we never thought we'd use it.”

Four of Huntley's turnovers came in the fourth quarter, after the Red Raiders had cut an 18-point halftime deficit to 8 with a pair of third-quarter scores.

Trailing 25-7 after Palatine scored 3 second-quarter touchdowns, Huntley took the second-half kickoff and marched 68 yards, with fullback Jacob Witt bulling over from the 1. Later in the quarter, the Raiders added a 42-yard field goal by Donnovan Young II and Raider nation appeared to have the momentum.

But Palatine answered. After a muffed punt by the Raiders set the Pirates up at the Huntley 30-yard line, Orlando fired a lateral to Lamm, who found Javone Stricker open in the end zone.

“We knew exactly what they would do in the second half, they would try some things,” said Palatine coach Rick Splitt. “They're a good football team. They pounded it down on us. We had to make a few adjustments and we struggled with it, but big plays happen.”

On Huntley's next possession, Michael J. Williams picked off Raider quarterback Anthony Binetti. On the next play, Daniel Garcia raced around end for a 12-yard score, sealing the win.

“We just made too many mistakes,” said Huntley coach John Hart. “We had a chance to get within a touchdown, then we dropped a punt. I thought we had them completely stopped at that point, but that was one play. We dropped some passes early on, but we just didn't play the disciplined ball we needed to play to beat a really good football team.”

Huntley (8-2) did move the ball, primarily on the ground. Casey Haayer ran for 107 yards as the Raiders rolled up 167 yards on the ground. Binetti completed 14 of 26 passes for 203 yards with a touchdown and 2 interceptions. Huntley had 19 first downs to Palatine's 20.

Even with Cornelius out, the Pirates still ran the ball. Dionte Neustadter led with 53 yards on the ground.

Roy gave the Pirates a huge lift late in the first half, with two big catch-and-runs for scores, the first from 57 yards out and the second from 32. On both he went up to take a jump ball away from a defender, then raced in all alone.

After Palatine opened the scoring on Michael Hilmer's 37-field goal, Huntley took its only lead on a 21-yard pass from Binetti to Kyle Kesul.

Palatine came right back the other way, regaining the lead for good on Orlando's 3-yard run. A 37-yard scamper by Neustadter was the key play on that drive.

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