Loyola denies Palatine in 8A semifinal
It was a cold conclusion to Palatine's dream season Saturday.
The Pirates, who were looking to advance to a football state title game for the first time since 1994, came up a bit short, bowing out against top-seeded Loyola Academy 24-22 in the Class 8A semifinals in Palatine.
"I am very proud of the season and very proud of their effort tonight," said Palatine coach Rick Splitt, whose 13th-seeded Pirates finished the season with a 10-3 mark. "The outcome was not great. They got us. They just made some plays that we couldn't make."
Loyola, which will meet Marist in the title game next Saturday, appeared to have things well in hand.
The Ramblers (13-0) scored a touchdown with 5:46 left to play to lead 24-9.
But "quit" has not been in the Palatine vocabulary this year.
Palatine drove 81 yards in 14 plays to make it 24-16 with 3:42 to left.
Zach Oles completed seven passes in the drive, six of which went to Johnny O'Shea, including a 1-yard scoring strike.
After a failed onside kick, the Palatine defense came up big again for the Pirates.
Led by Mikey Williams, Dillon McHugh, Ethan Senner, McKenzie Balanganayi and Ben Riddle, the Pirates forced a punt from the Loyola 46.
And for the second time in the game, the Loyola long snapper sailed his snap over the punter's head.
The ball slid on the slick turf to the Loyola end zone, where Senner was credited with falling on it for a Palatine touchdown.
Trailing 24-22 with 2:36 to play, Palatine was forced to go for a 2-point conversion. However, Oles' jump pass was tipped by a Loyola defender and was incomplete.
Palatine, which was penalized 15 yards after a failed attempt, opted to kick the ball deep this time.
Loyola took over the ball at its own 45 and was able to run out the clock.
"At halftime, that was what we talked about," Splitt said. "Keep putting it on the field. They left their hearts in the field and that was great."
The game almost didn't happen because of the 12 inches of snow that hit the area Friday night and nearly all day Saturday.
But thanks to a Herculean effort by the staff and local volunteers, kickoff was delayed just an hour.
Palatine provided its own blizzard early.
After a second consecutive defensive stop to begin the game, the Pirates were the beneficiaries of a Loyola special teams miscue.
The Ramblers' long snapper sailed the first of two errant snaps over his punter's head.
This one shot out the back of the end zone for a safety and Palatine led 2-0 with 5:57 left in the first quarter.
After McHugh stuffed a Loyola runner on fourth-and-1 from the Palatine 36, Oles went to work.
Oles (19-of-30 for 207 yards) completed 3 passes to move the ball the Loyola 18.
Oles the took a snap and blasted his way around the left end to score as Palatine increased its lead to 9-0 on the first play of the second quarter.
Loyola came right back on its next two possessions to take the lead with a pair of touchdowns in just over two minutes.
Jake Marwede capped a nine-play, 60-yard drive with a 3-yard run and Mt. Prospect native Dara Laja busted off a 37-yard touchdown run following a Palatine fumble.
The Pirates had an opportunity to answer. But an offensive pass interference call negated a long pass play to end that threat.
Loyola added a field goal before the half thanks to a third down unsportsmanlike call as the Ramblers led 17-9 at the half.
Loyola was able to control the ball throughout the game, thanks to the play of Palatine natives and Rambler offensive linemen Sam and Jack Badovinac, and the running of Laja, who finished with 201 yards on 36 carries.
Loyola added a touchdown in the fourth quarter when Marwede used his size to haul down a pass from Emmett Clifford (17-of-23, 188 yards).
It was a tough finish for Palatine receiver Matt Lamm, who was blanketed by Loyola defenders and had 2 catches for 28 yards.
"This is a just a bunch of guys who have a lot of heart," Lamm said. "We weren't willing to go down without a fight."
Williams said Palatine played with a chip on its shoulder all season.
"I am so proud of these guys," Williams said, "No one picked us to do anything. We came out here and proved people wrong every week."
McHugh likes that his team left a legacy for future Palatine teams.
"I can say we left it all out there," McHugh said. "I can't say that I have been more proud of a team. It stinks the way it came out, but we battled to the end and that is what matters."