Palatine 21, Conant 0

There was no letdown for Palatine on Thursday night against visiting Conant.

The Pirates, fresh off last week's stunning upset of Prospect, used ball-control offense and a rock-solid defense to blank the Cougars 21-0 in the Mid-Suburban West Division.

Ryan Cortez, Jack Hansen, Ryan Hourigan, James LaCapra and the rest of the defense for Palatine (3-2, 1-0) didn't let Conant any closer than the Pirates' 33-yard line the entire game.

"Coming in, we knew that they would not be an easy team to beat," said LaCapra as the Pirates defeated Conant (1-4, 0-1) for the first time in 12 years.

"We prepared all week, and we were able to play our game."

Pirates junior running back Christopher Norman rushed for 69 yards on 13 carries.

Quarterback Matt Rossi was 10-for-14 passing for 113 yards, and 6-foot-5 senior receiver Nicholas Busch hauled in 6 passes for the Pirates.

"We had a lot of motivation after last year's game," Busch said. "They gave us a lot of pain last year. It was kind of personal. We wanted to get some points on the board."

The Pirates scored on their first possession when Daniel Sutton ran into the end zone from 9 yards out.

"I told our team that it was important to get on the board early," said Pirates coach Tyler Donnelly.

A 5-yard touchdown run by Tom Eanes gave the Pirates a 14-0 halftime lead, and Sutton scored again on an 8-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter.

Conant's best chance came in the third quarter when a 14-play drive led by quarterback Tom Houle (4-of-9 passing for 40 yards) and running back Scott Zari (52 yards) brought the Cougars to the Palatine 33, but a Cortez interception ended the threat.

Eanes added 37 yards on the ground for Palatine and caught 3 passes for 34 yards.

"It was good to get a win," said Donnelly, "in a tough, short week with a lot of distractions."