Haze chips in for Palatine

It is clear who stoked the competitive fire in Palatine senior wide receiver-defensive back Dan Haze.

His dad Mark played quarterback and middle linebacker for Foreman in the Chicago Public League.

“He isn't as big as I am, but he wasn't going to let anybody beat him and that's how I am, too,” Haze said. “You have to play with a chip on your shoulder.”

A chip Haze hopes will keep him in shoulder pads after Palatine plays its second-round Class 8A playoff game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Glenbrook South. Especially since most people figured Haze would be thinking about his baseball season by now.

But the standout right fielder is still looking to get his mitts on some more footballs from quarterback and baseball teammate Cody Bobbit. Haze is one of the area's top receivers with 35 catches for 465 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Haze also grabbed two loose balls for a fumble on the first play and an interception last Friday to fuel the 14th-seeded Pirates' 28-14 upset win at No. 3 Glenbard North.

“After the first play when they fumbled, it lit a spark under us,” Haze said. “We went nuts and started scoring like crazy.

“It was already 14-0 (after six minutes) and it was like, ‘Oh, wow,' and we kept rolling. It was kind of what we expected all year and how we should have been all year.”

But it was a challenging year that seemed to include one setback after another. Haze came into the season with an injured hip flexor and groin and didn't start playing both ways until midseason.

Receiver Nick McHugh and John Serio were injured in the preseason. Offensive lineman Layne Kirch missed most of the season, Bobbit was banged up early and middle linebacker-running back Jim Smearman missed time with late-season leg and hand injuries.

On top of that, the Pirates had let games against Lake Forest and Fremd slip away and needed to win the regular-season finale at Barrington just to get into the playoffs.

“We shouldn't have even been in that situation,” said Haze, who moved to running back in a 21-10 win where Smearman was limited primarily to defense.

Now the Pirates are in a situation where they could make the quarterfinals for the first time in 13 years.

“It was a confidence boost,” Haze said of beating Glenbard North. “You look at how big they are and we took it to them.

“It's helped having everybody back and now we can actually do some damage.”

Haze played football since the third grade but wasn't sure if he was going to stick with it his sophomore year.

Then he got a chance to stick with the varsity and because of injuries ended up starting at safety for four games.

“He's always been a tough kid, a no-one is going to mess with kind of kid,” said Palatine coach Tyler Donnelly. “He just didn't have confidence.”

Haze was better suited at cornerback so he went back to the sophomore level for the final two games. He got to return to wide receiver, where he started all of last season.

But he's glad he has the chance again to shut down other receivers.

“He's really committed himself to being a good football player and he's had an outstanding season,” Donnelly said.

“I remember coming up as a sophomore and on defense I was really scared,” Haze said. “Now on defense it's fun.”

Haze said he'll start looking more at his baseball options when football season ends. He has a 4.0 grade-point average with a heavy advanced placement class load, scored 32 on the ACT and wants to become a lawyer.

“He can argue,” Donnelly said with a laugh.

But there is no disputing how the Pirates have turned doubters into believers.

“Everybody's jumping on the bandwagon,” Haze said.

It's a ride Haze and the Pirates want to stay on for awhile.