Palatine picks up playoff berth
Palatine is going to the playoffs and rode the Kurt Becker expressway to get there. Three times.
The junior linebacker's 3 interceptions Friday night at Barrington, one for a 48-yard touchdown, enabled Palatine to rally through a season of adversity and secure a football playoff spot with a 21-10 Mid-Suburban West victory.
The Pirates (5-4, 3-2 MSL West) had to win to get in. Barrington (7-2, 3-2) was already in but was playing for a piece of the MSL West crown it wouldn't get.
“It feels great,” to make the playoffs, said Becker, beaming after becoming one of the first juniors in head coach Tyler Donnelly's tenure to earn a game ball. And did he ever earn it.
His first pick set up the second touchdown in the first quarter when it seemed Barrington was driving for a tying score. He scampered 57 yards with the short pass in the right flat before being forced out at the 3. Cody Bobbit scored three plays later and Palatine never trailed.
“It helps the team get to the playoffs,” Becker said of three picks. He credited his defensive line with pressure on Barrington's Matt LeMire (17-28-181-3) and the defensive backs with great coverage to enable his three huge plays.
His second pick, with the game still in doubt, settled the issue in the second half. With Barrington moving again, as it had all evening 20-to-20, he grabbed a LeMire fling over the middle at Barrington's 48, made two cutbacks and twisted into the end zone with the game-clinching score. For good measure, he added a pick with 6:08 to go to thwart another Barrington drive.
Donnelly had faith in the junior all along. After each pick, he showed the moves and speed that made him the quarterback on last year's sophomore championship conference squad.
And for Donnellly, whose team “made plays when we needed them,” just qualifying for the playoffs for the fourth straight year after an injury-plagued, close-loss infused season, gratification didn't come close to describing the emotions.
“It looked bleak at times,” he said, especially after consecutive close losses to playoff-bound Fremd and Schaumburg. “So many close losses, our backs against the wall.”
But with Bobbit hitting sophomore brother Jesse for a 63-yard TD down the middle on the first possession of the game the tone was set. Dan Haze and the elder Bobbit got the tough yards on the ground that nicked-up Jim Smearman usually toughs out.
Barrington finished on a sour note after a 7-0 start. The Broncos outgained the Pirates by more than 100 yards and junior Chase Murdock, before going out with a bruised hip, went over 100 yards for the game and 1,000 for the season.
“He means a lot,” said Barrington coach Joe Sanchez, but Jeremy Rafidia and Nico Martinez showed some spark running the ball.
Still, the defeat was “disappointing,” said Sanchez, whose defense played well enough to win and whose offense moved the ball everywhere but into the end zone. LeMire scored the only TD on a fourth-down 1-yard plunge.
Will Murdock be OK for next week? “We'll see,” said Sanchez.
Is Palatine ready for its fourth straight playoff appearance? “Credit those kids,” said Donnelly.
And Becker. Three times.