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Sacrifice leads to success for Lamm, Palatine

Matt Lamm could have taken the easy way out.

The Palatine senior came into this season projected to be the starting quarterback for the Pirates. He had started there his freshman and sophomore years, and after moving to wide receiver last year while Nick Orlando was at quarterback, the most highly prized position on a team was thought to be his.

But when junior quarterback Zach Oles had a great summer of practice, Palatine coach Rick Splitt decided to go with Oles.

"It doesn't matter which one is out there because they both do a great job," Splitt said. "We went with one because we believe in one quarterback here at Palatine. Zach brings to the table a different style of run game that Matt did. And we are still a running team."

Many players would have pouted, or even quit. But Lamm embraced the decision to return to wide receiver, and it has paid huge dividends for Palatine and Lamm as well.

"Obviously I wasn't happy," Lamm said. "But Zach earned it. I just dealt with and knew I had to do anything for the team. I will accept any role that is given to me."

Lamm has made the most out of his opportunity. He had a breakout game last week, setting a Class 8A playoff record with 4 touchdown receptions and finishing with 148 yards on 8 catches.

"I like receiver a lot," said Lamm, who has 49 catches for 707 yards and 6 TDs. "I can still lead out there. I understand that Zach can take over too."

Lamm, who also plays baseball, has been accepted at Indiana University and has not decided if he is going to play football in college. That surprised an Oak Park-River Forest coach, who described Lamm as a "Steve Largent-type receiver."

With an extra quarterback in the huddle, Oles has leaned on Lamm.

"I have known Matt for a while," Oles. "I have full trust in him. I know that that every time I throw him the ball, he will make a play."

Oles showed that confidence when he went to Lamm on a fade route from the 10-yard line in overtime against Sandburg in the opening game of the playoffs.

"They work on that all the time," Splitt said. "They are competitors. They want the best and they are going to find a way to get it done."

Oles, who has thrown for 1,942 yards and 16 touchdowns and has rushed for 1,110 yards and 16 touchdowns, will get Jovone Stricker back at wide receiver to join Lamm. Johnny O'Shea, Jack Grochowski, Courtland Cornelius, Jake Garcia and Joey Roy should also see action, giving the Pirates one of the best receiving corps in the state.

The Palatine offensive line of Matt Kerlin, Carson Walker, Joey Smearman, Andrew Martino, Alexander Asta and Jason Zych has given Oles plenty of time to throw. The have also done a great job opening the holes to allow Oles and Josh Turner plenty of room to run.

Palatine will need all of that to get past Brother Rice in Saturday's 2 p.m. quarterfinal matchup.

"They are a great football team," Splitt said. "They have a great tradition there and play in a powerhouse conference in the state."

Brother Rice (10-1) has been highly-ranked all season, with one of the victories a forfeit over Legal Prep of the Chicago Public League.

The fifth-seeded Crusaders play in the Catholic League Blue, one of the toughest conferences in the state. They finished second to Loyola, losing their only game of the season to the Ramblers 28-0 in the third week of the season.

The Crusaders are explosive on offense and are averaging 38.7 points. They like to go to the air and led by quarterback Cam Miller, who is 227-for-326 for 2,826 yards passing and 35 touchdowns this season. Miller likes to throw to Ricky Smaling, who has 73 receptions for 1,052 yards and 14 touchdowns, and Julian Bain who has 56 receptions for 782 yards and 13 TD's.

The Crusaders can also run the ball quite effectively. Clifton Taylor is coming off of a 142-yard performance last week and has 1,082 yards and 7 touchdowns for the season.

"They are very talented," Splitt said. "Defensively, they want the challenge. Bottom line is that we have to play on defense a very structured game."

But this has been a Palatine defense that has prided itself on a bend-but-don't-break philosophy. The Pirates have surrendered 779 yards in the two playoff games. But led by Dylan McHugh, Mike Williams, Majetete Balanganayi, Ethan Senner, Danny Garcia, Ethan Lloyd, Ben Riddle, Dylan Tapia, Elvin Lama Sosa, Anthony Portera and Brody Muck, the Pirates have yielded an average of just 22.5 points in those 2 games.

Lamm has been impressed with the defense all season.

"Just when you think they are going to break, they come up with a huge play," Lamm said. "It turns things around for our offense."

Splitt says his team is ready for its next challenge.

"We just want to go out there and play hard," Splitt said. "And we just want to go out there each week and compete. We know we are up against great talent. And we were up against great talent last week. For us, we just do what we do and keep moving forward."

  With Oak Park-River Forest's Keyon Blankenbaker defending, Palatine's Matt Lamm makes one of his four touchdown catches last Saturday in Oak Park. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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