Schaumburg’s two-headed running attack was too much for Palatine on Friday night.
Shepard Little and Mark Iannotti combined for more than 350 yards on the ground for the Saxons in a 35-27 win in a Mid-Suburban League West game at Palatine.
The victory kept Schaumburg’s hopes alive for at least a share of the league title with one week left in the regular season, and it pushed Palatine to the brink of playoff elimination.
In a wild finish, Palatine pulled to within 35-27 on a 5-yard pass from Cody Bobbit to Dan Haze with 1 minute, 43 seconds left to play in the game. The Pirates then recovered the onside kick and drove to the Saxons’ 7-yard line.
Bobbit ran in an apparent touchdown with 20 seconds left that would have pulled the Pirates within two, but a block-in-the-back penalty on Palatine negated the score. Bobbit’s last-ditch, fourth-down pass to Haze in the back of the end zone fell incomplete, and Schaumburg ran out the clock.
“Coming into this game we knew that Palatine was fighting for a playoff spot, so we knew that we were going to get their best game,” Iannotti said. “We had to come out fixing our mistakes and getting some momentum going for the playoffs.”
Little scored his 17th and 18th touchdowns of the season in the first half as the Saxons built a 14-7 lead. Iannotti scored on runs of 13 and 76 yards in the second half, the latter giving Schaumburg (6-2, 3-1) breathing room by making the score 35-21.
Palatine (4-4, 2-2) threatened to take the lead early in the second with a first-and-goal from Schaumburg’s 7. But the Saxons defense held with a goal line stand, stopping Bobbit on two straight quarterback sneaks from the 1.
Player of the game:
Mark Iannotti, Schaumburg, 19-for-24, 161 yards, TD; 15 carries, 179 yards, 2 TDs.
Key performers:
Schaumburg — Shepard Little, 23 carries, 178 yards, 2 TDs; Palatine — Cody Bobbit, 29-for-48, 310 yards, 3 TDs; 13 carries, 112 yards.
