Palatine closes deal with Rolling Meadows

In any sport, you've got to be able to close the deal.

Palatine's football team keenly handled that part of business on Friday night and it led to a second straight victory.

The Pirates dealt host Rolling Meadows a 24-15 defeat in the Mid-Suburban League crossover.

Despite gaining yards most of the game, the Pirates scored more than half of their points in the final quarter to finally put the game out of reach.

Junior quarterback Zachary Oles threw a 15-yard TD pass to the out-stretched arms of Johnny O'Shea with 10:40 left and then ran into the end zone from 1-yard out with 4:21 to make it 24-7.

"In the first half, we didn't finish," Oles said. "There were some plays in the red zone that hurt us. We knew what we had to do in second half, and we finished."

Oles finished with some impressive numbers.

He rushed for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns and passed for 166 yards and 1 touchdown.

O'Shea made a terrific diving grab just beyond his defender in the middle of the end zone for the 17-7 lead.

Meadows then started from its own 20 and quickly got two first downs - one on Asher O'Hara's 12-yard pass to Blake Holfeld followed by an 11-yard run by Kevin Lacosse.

But on first down from its own 41, Meadows (1-2) turned the ball over when senior defensive lineman Ethan Senner made a big hit to cause a fumble in the backfield and junior linebacker Brody Muck fell on the ball at the Mustangs' 38.

"Ethan Senner really stood up for us," said Palatine coach Rick Splitt, whose team raised its record to 2-1. "We were without two returning defensive linemen (seniors) and Ethan played great."

Jason Lopez injured his knee in the first quarter and Jake Fadulto suffered a shoulder injury last week.

After Muck's fumble recovery, Oles got the Pirates into the end zone in eight plays, including his own 9-yard run, a 13-yard pass to Jovone Stricker and a 5-yard toss to Joseph Roy at the 1-yard line.

Oles scored on the next play, when he dropped back a few steps, then took off straight ahead behind his offensive line of Jason Zych, Maxwell Stepp, Carson Walker, Mathew Kerlin and Christian Arenas.

"The offensive line really brought it," Oles said. "There were holes everywhere."

Oles receivers were able to find holes to get open. Oles connected with Stricker four times for 52 yards and teamed up with Mathew Lamm four times for 46 yards.

"We knew all week what kind of coverage we were going to see, so we tried to exploit that," Lamm said. "We had a big second half. They are a tough physical team and they kind of kicked us in the face right away. We can enjoy this for the moment, but (Saturday) we've got to start getting ready for Prospect."

Senior kicker Michael Hilmer had his foot ready right away, booting a 33-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 3:14 left in the first quarter.

Meadows answered with 8:47 in the second period. O'Hara capped a nifty 87-yard drive with a 1-yard QB sneak. The junior found Devonte Amos (2 interceptions on