Palatine's big numbers add up to big win
Five touchdowns with 181 yards passing and 103 rushing. Two fumble recoveries. Two interceptions.
And that was just Friday's first half for Palatine in a resounding 44-7 Mid-Suburban League crossover victory over visiting Elk Grove.
The Pirates (2-1) finished with more than 400 yards on offense while an opportunistic defense limited Elk Grove (1-2) to only a late fourth-quarter touchdown.
"We wanted to come out tonight and show what Palatine football was all about," said Palatine senior Kevin Dann, who along with offensive line mates Adam Schroeder, Ryan Eich, Joseph Stopka and Sahishnu Patel opened some huge holes for the running game while providing solid pass protection for quarterback Matt Rossi.
Rossi was 15-for-23 for 191 yards and 3 touchdowns and led the ground game as well with 115 yards rushing.
Linemen Chad Bobbit, Brock Tenca and Tyler Jones showed the way on defense for the Pirates as they allowed the visitors only 44 yards total offense through the first three quarters.
"We were sloppy on offense," said Elk Grove quarterback Nick Meyer. "We couldn't do anything."
Palatine took a 21-0 lead before one quarter had gone by as Rossi connected on scoring strikes to Michael Luschen (4 yards), Jack Hansen (42 yards) and Jose Munoz (39 yards).
Rossi had touchdown runs of 6 and 3 yards to give Palatine a 34-0 halftime lead. A 23-yard field goal by Ryan Cortez and a 10-yard Hansen touchdown run in the second half closed out the scoring for the Pirates.
Meyer scored for Elk Grove late in the fourth quarter on a 38-yard run down the left sideline.
Hansen shouldered the load on the ground for the Pirates with 78 yards on 12 carries while in the secondary, Steven Temple and Daniel Krippinger grabbed interceptions.
"This was a great win for us," Dann said. "It'll definitely help our confidence for the rest of the season.
"We've been working hard in practice and we came out tonight and played our game. Our defense did a great job getting through the line and making tackles."