Oct. 11--Surrounded by Palatine defenders camped out at the goal line late Friday night, Barrington receiver Josh Babicz out-jumped them all and came down with the Hail Mary, but was brought to the ground less than a yard short of its intended destination.
Truth be told, there was an offensive penalty on the play anyway, but that's how close Palatine's 26-24 upset of then-No. 11 Barrington was -- and how evenly matched the top teams in Mid-Suburban West seem to be.
With two weeks left in the regular season, Barrington (6-1, 2-1), Palatine (5-2, 2-1) and Conant (6-1, 2-1) share first place in the MSL West standings.
Hoffman Estates spared the league a four-way tie by upsetting Fremd 25-24 in overtime.
All six MSL West teams remain alive for a playoff berth, though Hoffman Estates faces an uphill battle in the form of Conant, then Barrington.
"It is a great year for the conference," Palatine coach Rick Splitt said. "The teams are very evenly matched."
All three first-place teams have tough games remaining.
Barrington hosts Fremd next Friday, while Palatine will host Conant in Week 9. Palatine will play Schaumburg (4-3, 1-2) Friday night.
The Pirates' biggest win came a week after losing by 30 to crosstown rival Fremd in Week 6. Both Palatine teams did 180s seven nights later.
Palatine handed Barrington its first loss for the second straight season -- the Broncos started 7-0 last year and ultimately went 10-2 with postseason victories against Oak Park and Maine South -- to remain in position for its third conference title in four years.
The Pirates took the lead twice in a four-minute span late in the fourth quarter, with junior QB Zach Oles leading a 97-yard drive that made it 23-17, and getting a clutch 41-yard field goal from Mike Hilmer with 1:23 left after Barrington had gone ahead 24-23.
For a split second, it looked like Johnny Davidson, who's in the midst of his second outstanding season as Barrington's quarterback, and Babicz had pulled off a miracle finish.
"It was an exciting high school football game," the understated Splitt said. "It was a wild finish."
Bracket breakdown: As No. 1 Homewood-Flossmoor and No. 2 Loyola continued to appear on a higher level than anyone else in Week 7, the projected Class 8A playoff bracket finally reflects what has been evident empirically all season.
Losses by Barrington, Oak Park and New Trier guarantee that H-F and Loyola will be on opposite sides of the bracket and unable to meet until the state final -- assuming they hold up their end of the bargain and finish 9-0.
Homewood-Flossmoor has two potential playoff teams remaining on its schedule in Sandburg (6-1) and Bolingbrook (4-3), but the Vikings made a major statement Friday with their 28-3 victory against then-No. 12 Lincoln-Way East.
After scoring all its points in the first half of its 42-0 victory against DePaul Prep on Saturday, Loyola has St. Rita and Mount Carmel left, which may not be as imposing as it sounds.
St. Rita (3-4) has not defeated a team with a winning record, and Mount Carmel (6-1) took a 31-14 loss from a Brother Rice team that Loyola beat 28-0.
Following its third straight victory over an undefeated conference rival, No. 3 Glenbard West looks like a real good bet to the top seed in the Class 7A playoffs.
West (7-0) made the jump to Class 8A last season, and while they appear to be on the 7A/8A bubble as the second-largest school currently listed in 7A, the cutoff point is projected to come down and push the Hilltoppers back to 7A.
After knocking off Lyons, Hinsdale Central and Oak Park in succession, West will conclude the regular season against Proviso West (1-6) and Addison Trail (3-4). The Hilltoppers have lost two regular-season games in eight years.
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
