Palatine Stopped Short of the Goal

Despite solid play from Palatine High School's (7-5) defense, the running attack of Loyola Academy (11-1) proved to be too much for the Pirates, who went on to lose 14-0 at home in Saturday's quarterfinal game. 

Both teams had trouble moving the ball throughout the game. Frigid temperatures and strong winds turned the match up into a battle for field position. At the end of the first half, neither team had been able to put any points on the board.

Palatine was forced to punt three times during the first two quarters, as Loyola's defense was able to contain Pirate quarterback Cody Bobbit.

"You got to take your hat off to that quarterback," Loyola head coach John Holecek said of Bobbit after Saturday's game. "Our game plan was just to try and contain him."

The Pirates owned some success moving the ball midway through the first quarter behind a combination of runs and passes from Bobbit. However, the drive stalled out on Loyola's 23 yard line, as a holding penalty and a 10-yard sack forced the Pirates to punt on fourth and long. Bobbit went 12 of 23 with 142 yards passing but only 53 rushing yards on 20 attempts.

"Our pass protection was on and we never got a real consistent run game going," Palatine head coach Tyler Donnelly said. "I thought we had some opportunities, but for whatever reason we didn't capitalize on them."

However, Palatine's defense kept the game close up until the fourth quarter. After Bobbit's interception early in the first quarter gave Loyola the ball on the Pirates' 12 yard line, the defense forced a turnover on downs.

"I thought our defense played well," Donnelly said. "Obviously a couple breakdowns led to touchdowns, but overall, I think our defense played pretty well."

Palatine's defense again came out fired up in the third quarter. They forced a three and out on the first possession of the half, but could not keep Loyola off the board much longer than that. During the next possession, Loyola quarterback Malcolm Weaver had a huge 50 yard run to move the ball to Palatine's 14 yard line.

Running back Spencer Perry carried the ball four times, adding 19 yards of his own and scoring the first touchdown of the game. Perry finished the night with 29 rushes for 114 yards and two touch downs.

"They manhandled us a lot up front today," Donnelly said of Loyola's offensive line. 

Two possessions later, it was Weaver again who moved the ball into Palatine's red zone with a 40-yard run to the Pirates five-yard line. Weaver and Perry combined for 61 yards on the way to a 14-0 lead. Perry found the end zone from three yards out, as Loyola gave themselves a little breathing room with 4:47 left in the game.

The very next drive, Palatine had a chance to move the ball into Loyola territory. A 28-yard completion from Bobbit to sophomore receiver Jesse Bobbit moved the ball to midfield. However, a penalty for an illegal man down field on the ensuing play negated what would have been a 20-yard completion, and the Pirates were forced to punt.

"I didn't think we'd be able to shut this team out," Holecek said. "They're very talented offensively, so I'm very happy."

The loss came after the Pirates were able to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in 13 years. Despite coming up short of the victory Saturday, both Donnelly and Bobbit are proud of what their team accomplished up to this point.

"We were leaving our mark as seniors," Bobbit said. "We haven't been this far in 13 years and it's rough but it's nothing to be ashamed of."

Donnelly said after the game, "We're not happy with the loss. We wanted to get to the semi-[finals], but when you look back, it was quite an amazing run we had."