Palatine scores 42 unanswered points on way to victory
After two possessions in their Mid-Suburban League football crossover, Wheeling and Palatine were on their way to what had the makings of a high-scoring shootout.
The visiting Wildcats took the opening possession and drove for a touchdown, and the Pirates answered with their own tying score.
As Wheeling was putting together a drive and trying to overcome a pair of holding penalties, Palatine defender Dillon McHugh intercepted Jalen Dennis' third-and-25 pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
That set off a deluge of points for the Pirates, who evened their record at 1-1 with a 42-13 victory at Chic Anderson Stadium.
Palatine scored 42 straight points, leading 21-7 after the first quarter and 35-7 at halftime.
The victory put a smile on coach Rick Splitt's face after miscues cost his team in the season opener against Stevenson.
"I'm ecstatic," Splitt said. "Week to week, our goal is to improve, and we did that. We did a lot of great things on the field."
One of several Palatine players who performed well was McHugh, a three-year starter for the Pirates.
When the defense flushed Dennis out of the pocket, McHugh was able to make the interception and work his way down the left sideline untouched for the go-ahead touchdown with 3:17 left in the first quarter.
"It was a broken play," McHugh said. "Our defensive line put pressure on him."
On the return, Dennis was the only player with a shot at making the tackle, and defensive end Majetete Balanganayi made the block.
The victory evened the score against Wheeling, which beat Palatine in last year's crossover.
"We weren't talking about it, but we were thinking about it," McHugh said. "They kicked our (rear ends) last year."
Offensively, Palatine quarterback Zach Oles rushed for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns on 10 carries and was 9 of 9 passing for 114 yards and a touchdown.
On Palatine's first play after a Wheeling 3 and out, Oles burst up the middle for a 56-yard touchdown, which gave Palatine a 21-7 lead with 1:29 left in the first quarter. Michael Hilmer made all 6 of his PAT attempts.
The Pirates stretched their lead in the second quarter. Following Scott Elter's interception, Palatine drove 45 yards in 12 plays and scored on Naail Fidai's 1-yard run, and Oles scored on a 1-yard run with 3.0 seconds left in the half to make it 35-7.
Oles finished with a flourish, connecting with Joseph Roy on a 52-yard touchdown pass with 10:12 left in the third quarter.
"He made a play on the ball and outran the defender," Oles said.
Palatine rushed for 255 yards and spread the ball around to 9 different ball carriers.
"That's the goal every game, to get the whole team involved," Oles said, after watching reserves get their opportunity to shine in the fourth quarter.
Offensive linemen Matt Kerlin, Jason Zych, Maxwell Stepp, Andrew Martino, Joseph Smearman, Christian Arenas, and Carson Walker opened the holes and dominated the line of scrimmage
"We knew it was an important game," Kerlin said. "We had to make holes for the running backs. This is a really good team, and we have high hopes."
Wheeling coach Brent Pearlman pointed to that line's dominance as well.
"Our defense was physically handled by their offense," Pearlman said. "They were pushing us three, four yards down field. We're young on defense. Hopefully, we'll get better.
"It was a step backward from last week (a 40-34 loss to Glenbrook North). It takes a lot more than good players to win games. We just can't come out and battle on Friday; we need to battle all week. Our offense had some moments, but we need to work on our defense. We need to take a look and see what we can do."
Dennis was 10-of-21 for 116 yards and rushed for 68 yards on 20 carries. He scored Wheeling's first touchdown on a 1-yard run on the opening possession of the game.
Josh Diaz closed the scoring with a 3-yard run with 3:42 left in the game. He gained 91 yards on 14 carries.