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Palatine tackles OT challenge against Sandburg

Elvin Lama Sosa and Palatine were not going to be fooled twice.

With the Pirates leading 20-19 in overtime, Lama Sosa contained, hit and slowed down Sandburg quarterback Alec Filan as he attempted to run to his right on a 2-point conversion. With Lama Sosa hanging on, Mike Williams and the rest of the Palatine defense swarmed Filan, tackling him for a loss as Palatine hung on for the victory.

"We were just trying to be ready for whatever comes," Lama Sosa said. "I was just lucky enough to make a play."

Coach Rick Splitt had told his team during a Sandburg timeout that if Sandburg came out in a particular formation, Filan, who had just scored around the right end, would keep the ball the same way.

"We talked about the formation," Splitt said. "We said if they came out in a full-house backfield, it would be their linebacker carrying the ball. If they don't come out in that, their quarterback is going to have the ball in his hands."

The Pirates (8-2) are seeded 13th in Class 8A, and they'll advance to play at Oak Park, the No. 4 seed, next Saturday. The time will be announced on Monday.

Palatine, which went first in overtime with the score tied at 13 after regulation, wanted a touchdown on its possession - and the Pirates got one.

On second down from the 10, Zack Oles lofted the ball to the left corner of the end zone. Matt Lamm went up and made a circus-type catch, outdueling his Sandburg defender. Michael Hilmer, who had missed an earlier conversion kick, split the uprights when his team needed it most to give the Eagles a 20-13 lead.

"It was a great ball," Lamm said. "We practice that play all week, about 30 times a practice and he put it right where it needed to be."

Splitt said there was no doubt that was the play his team wanted to run in that spot.

"It was something we did all year," Splitt said. "These are things we do on a regular basis, things we do every day."

The game was expected to be a high-scoring affair. But the driving rain and wind slowed both offenses down tremendously. And the Palatine defense stepped up when the Pirates needed it most.

Led by Lama Sosa, Williams, Dillon McHugh, Dylan Tapia, Ethan Senner, Brody Muck, Anthony Portera, Jake Garxia, Majetete Balanganayi, Ethan Lloyd and Ben Riddle, the Pirates employed a bend-but-don't-break philosophy. And it worked as 20th-seeded Sandburg was able to move the ball but found itself stopped in key situations.

"On a stage like this, we knew we all had to step up," Williams said. "We have some guys hurt, so it is next man up. But we played hard and dug in when we needed it."

Palatine took a 6-0 lead on its first possession on a 1-yard run by Oles. The drive was set up by a 55-yard run by Josh Turner.

The Pirates has a chance to end their lead, but fumbled on the Sandburg 10 on their next possession.

Sandburg returned the favor in a different manor when the Eagles had the ball in the second quarter. Twice the Eagles had touchdowns called back because of penalties.

Sandburg got on the board just before the end of the half on an 11-yard pass from Filan to Avery Verbie to make it 7-6.

The Eagles added a touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard run by Patrick Brucki. But Williams burst through the line to deflect Brucki's conversion kick to make it 13-6.

The Palatine offense, which had struggled after the Pirates' second series, finally found some wings right after that. Facing a third and 13 at its own 42, Palatine caught Sandburg in a blitz and Oles lofted a sweet screen pass to Turner, who picked up a couple of blocks and raced untouched for a 58-yard score. Hilmer's kick tied it with 9:07 to play.

Sandburg had a chance to win the game in the closing seconds.

A short punt of 6 yards gave the Eagles the ball at the Palatine 11 with 17 second left. With no timeouts, Sandburg opted to kick a field goal. But the Eagles were slow to get their kicking team on to the field and were called for a delay of game, moving the ball back to the 17. The kick then sliced just wide left and would have been most likely good had Sandburg not lost the 5 yards on the penalty.

The game left Splitt trying to catch his breath while talking to reporters.

"I don't have a breath right now," Splitt said. "That was so much fun. It was a great high school football game. It was very exciting."

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