Defense carries Palatine past Schaumburg
Former Denver Broncos linebacker and longtime ESPN NFL analyst Tom Jackson, a recent inductee into the broadcasting wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, lives by the football mantra, "always bring your defense."
He would have enjoyed Friday night's Mid-Suburban West contest between Palatine and Schaumburg.
The game included a combined 6 turnovers, a pick-6, a goal-line stand and a couple of stops deep in the opponent's territory.
The visiting Pirates enjoyed it as well, as their defense came up with 4 of those turnovers in a 14-7 victory at Gary Scholz Stadium.
The win puts Palatine (6-2, 3-1) in position to win at least a share of a fourth West title in five years with a win at home next Friday against Conant.
Palatine made its presence known on the defensive end by forcing a fumble and by getting the first of 5 sacks in the home team's first two drives inside their 20 yard line.
After an 8-yard touchdown pass from Zach Oles to Jovone Stricker broke a scoreless tie with 2:49 left in the first half, the Pirate defense came through once again.
Senior defensive back Anthony Portera picked off the first of three passes at the Schaumburg 24-yard line and took it back for a 14-0 lead just 14 seconds later.
"We played real hard," said Palatine senior defensive end Ethan Senner, who had the fifth and final sack of the evening. "We did a good job in utilizing our team speed despite our smaller size."
Despite amassing 328 yards of total offense, Schaumburg (4-4, 1-3) was unable to make a return visit to the Pirates' red zone until its second-to-last possession of the game. That led to a 1-yard keeper by QB Justin Perez (13-26-169 yards, 3 interceptions) that pulled the Saxons to within the final margin with 2:10 to play.
Junior running back Manny Little gained 118 yards on 27 carries, and the Saxons' defensive effort limited Palatine to 224 yards of total offense, including 58 on the ground highlighted by a pair of interceptions by junior defensive back Anthony Nix.
Oles finished 16-for-23 passing for 66 yards.
"Our kids played well." said Palatine coach Rick Splitt. "They really stepped up. Especially our defense. To be able to keep an offense as good as Schaumburg's in check, it's a testament to the strong week of practice we had this week."
"You can't turn the ball over four times and expect to beat a team like theirs," said Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling, whose team will also be in Palatine next Friday, needing a win to qualify for playoff eligibility when it faces Fremd. "We've got to be way better in our fundamentals."