Schools
Niles West Falls to Palatine 69-42
The third-seeded Pirates battled, and won their spot into the second-round of the Class 8A playoffs with a victory against the Niles West Wolves at Chic Anderson Stadium.
The Niles West Wolves kept it close in Palatine for about a quarter, and then the Pirates took control in the opening round of the Class 8A playoffs.
Two Palatine turnovers helped Niles West to a 7-7 tie in the first quarter. The Pirates, however, then rattled off four straight touchdowns. Niles West was able to add a score late in the second quarter to make it 35-14 at halftime.
The Pirates continued to widen their lead with quarterback Ethan Olles throwing his third touchdown pass to wide receiver Alex Nawrot, making it 49-14 at 6:49 in the third quarter.
Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
At 5:02 in the third, the Wolves came alive with a touchdown by wide receiver Andrew Milhulet, making the score 49-21. The Pirates closed out the third quarter with a touchdown by running back Chaka Kelly, widening the gap again, to 56-21.
The Wolves took advantage of the Pirates sitting some of their starting defensive players in the fourth quarter, and took the game to 56-35 by picking up a fumble and running it in for a touchdown.
Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Both teams rallied back and forth, until the final score of 69-42, sending the Pirates to the second round of the IHSA 8A playoffs against the Schaumburg Saxons.
Get Niles and Morton Grove news in a daily email. It's free. Learn more.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.