Palatine line has an appetite for winning

Get a group of offensive linemen together and it isn't long before the subject takes a culinary turn.

Palatine's top six front men have similar tastes.

"You should see us at the team dinners," said 6-foot-3, 265-pound senior center/tackle Casey McCabe said with a smile. "We eat all the food."

Understandable since McCabe, Taylor Aiello, Conor Hanley, Drew Peterson, Kevin Mitchell and Kevin Dann have to fuel an average of 258 pounds.

And it's probably wise to keep them well-fed since they've been chewing up an average of 476 yards in a 4-game winning streak going into Friday's Class 8A second round visit by Mt. Carmel.

It's also safe to say they relish their unsung roles in Palatine's return to the playoffs after a 10-year absence.

"Of course I'd love to play running back, but I don't think I'm quick enough for that," the 6-foot-2, 283-pound Mitchell said with a laugh.

"My life is the offensive line," said the 6-3, 282-pound Aiello. "It's strictly offensive line.

"Brains and brawn. We're the smartest group on the team."

They have used their size and smarts to open holes in the Pirates' double-wing attack for Dan Sutton, Tom Eanes and Chris Norman. And they give Matt Rossi time to find Mookie Williams and Nick Busch.

"It's a great group of kids to work with," said offensive line coach Mike Hernon, who played in the trenches at Marian Catholic and coached three years at Lake Forest College before coming to Palatine in 1998. "They've done everything we've asked them to do going back to last December.

"They're all very, very smart. They can do a lot of things and do a lot of things on the run."

Running the same offense for four years helps. Depth has been a significant difference since Aiello and Dann, a 6-3, 240-pound junior were out early in the season with injuries.

In the Pirates' playoff-clinching win in Week 8 over Schaumburg, Hanley went out in the first quarter with a torn MCL and dislocated left kneecap. McCabe moved to center and Dann stepped in at tackle.

"You're competing every week," McCabe said.

"Last year there was almost complacency," Aiello said. "You know you've got the job because who's behind me? We literally had five offensive linemen."

It led to valuable experience as Hanley, Mitchell, Aiello and Peterson started last year. It was also painful as the Pirates lost their last 6 games and finished 2-7.

"Things didn't always go well and we'd start complaining," Mitchell said. "That hasn't happened (this year). We've all stuck together."

It showed after a 1-2 start with tough last-minute losses to Lake Forest and Rolling Meadows.

Their camaraderie and good humor comes from playing together since their youth football days.

"He's the outspoken one," the soft-spoken 5-10, 255-pound Peterson said of Aiello.

"We've known each other forever," Aiello said.

"Too long," said Hanley, who is the smallest of the group at 5-11, 225 and is expected to return from his injury for some action Friday.

"If you don't like what you're doing, you won't get anything out of it," McCabe said. "There's no tension and we're all friends."

And they've made Dann feel right at home even though he's the only junior of the six.

"It's been good," Dann said of the transition from freshman and sophomore teams.

So has the Pirates' offense since Aiello returned for a 35-7 win over Barrington.

"That's really when all this started," said Palatine coach Tyler Donnelly. "They seem to keep getting better."

Especially as games wear on and they wear down defenses.

"When you watch film of the third quarter of games you can see our opponents," Hernon said, "and it gets to them getting hit, getting hit, getting hit."

They'll have to keep hitting that same way Friday against a Mt. Carmel team that has lost state championship games the last two seasons.

Only Aiello is sure he wants to play in college -- possibly at Wisconsin-LaCrosse -- while studying to become a teacher and coach.

McCabe is considering Wisconsin and Illinois to become a physical education teacher and coach. Mitchell wants to become a special education teacher, Peterson wants to study business and Hanley criminal justice.

But they'd like to spend a few more lunch hours breaking down film and talking football.

With plenty of food on the table, of course.

"We wouldn't be able to focus," Aiello said with a laugh. "We wouldn't have it any other way."