Sports
Palatine Dominates Hoffman Estates 32-0
Palatine Pirates denied any scoring opportunity in a 32-0 victory against Hoffman Estates Friday.
Pirates head coach Tyler Donnelly said the team reached a goal in recording a shutout during the 2011 season.
Palatine defeated Hoffman Estates 32-0, winning their seventh straight game and moving to 7-1 on the season. The Hoffman Estates Hawks did not threaten to score often, but when they did the Pirates defense made sure to keep them out of the endzone.
Two possible scoring drives by the Hawks were shut down by interceptions, once at 9:40 in the second quarter on a fourth down, and the second in the final moments of the game.
Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"On film they have a pretty good offense. They tend to turn the ball over a lot and get penalties, but when they get the thing going, they're not bad at all," Donnelly said.
The win ensures the Pirates are in the state playoffs regardless of the outcome of next week's conference game against Conant. However, Palatine wants to be outright conference champions, Donnelly said.
Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
When asked how the team prepared for the game against the Hawks, Donnelly said, "They're teenagers, trust me, its hard to keep them focused. They just came off a four game stretch of really good programs with really solid teams and we won all of them. Then we go on TV last week against Fremd ... I think you gotta challenge them."
Key players that were kept out of the lineup because of injuries included senior defensive lineman Nick Novelli, junior offensive lineman Josh Baldus, and junior wide receiver Alex Nawrot.
