Palatine gets tough - and gets going

This has already been a tough football season for Palatine. The last thing it wanted to do was make it even tougher.

The Pirates had been hit hard by injuries and illness. They were hit with the death of one of the program's most revered players, C.J. Boyd, who was serving his country with the Marines in Afghanistan.

They felt they beat themselves in a last-minute loss in their opener at Lake Forest. And now, in a year with power-packed Mid-Suburban League crossover matchups, they came home Friday night to face defending East champion Rolling Meadows.

"We have a tough schedule this year - and we couldn't go 0-2," said Palatine senior Jim Smearman.

"Our whole thing was being 0-2 or 1-1, what do you want to be," said Palatine senior quarterback Cody Bobbit. "We're starting conference play and we had a tough one last week."

But Palatine, which is looking to make its fourth straight playoff appearance, hung tough after squandering most of an early 14-point lead and picked up a much-needed 28-12 victory.

"Against a good opponent," said Palatine coach Tyler Donnelly of a Meadows team that traditionally features one of the area's best defenses.

One that had beaten the Pirates the last three times they had met. This time they relied heavily on their defense by picking off two passes and recovering 4 fumbles.

"The defense played great," Bobbit said of a group that included his younger brother Jesse, who got the turnover parade started with an interception on the third play.

Yet there were still tough times after the Pirates tore out to a 14-0 lead just 6:45 into the game. At halftime it was down to 14-12.

"Our team started to get on each other a little bit in negative ways," said Jesse Bobbit, whose third-quarter blast knocked Meadows running back Garrett Peterson out of the game. "Then our leaders came together and we got back in the game."

While guys such as Cody Bobbit, Jim Smearman and Dan Haze, who seem as if they have been around forever, took center stage, there were many others who stepped in and delivered.

Boyd's cousin Joe Landeck, who is wearing No. 54 in his honor, helped lead an effective running game. Taylor Hall, making his first start after missing last week because of illness, had key catches to keep drives going.

Donnelly said when seniors Wesley Hunt and Rory Fritz "are making plays it's fun to watch." They were mainly JV players last year but Hunt blocked well at fullback and had a big fourth-down catch and Fritz came up with an interception at linebacker.

It wasn't perfect. But it was a start in the right direction.

"Now we can be a little tougher on them after all the mistakes and it will be better received," Donnelly said.

Especially since they're 1-1 instead of 0-2.

"It's going to be a tough year," Smearman said.

mmaciaszek@dailyherald.com