There was excitement in the air as the eager Wildcat football fans poured into the bleachers after an hour-long storm delay for the first football game of the year against Palatine. Not long after the students found their seats did the ‘We can’t hear you chants’ begin raining down upon the visiting student section.

However, that would be about all the excitement for the night as Palatine tamed the Cats, last Friday, August 30, by a score of 25-7. There was a promising start as the Cats defense intercepted a pass in the redzone and recovered a fumble in the red zone, both in the first quarter. Failure to capitalize on the turnovers left the game tied at 0 after the first.

The second quarter was a new story. Palatine came out aggressive, scoring three touchdowns for 19 points. They would keep that lead into the second half. Senior and starting running back Conor Simpson a, to many the star of the offense, went down with a leg injury after returning a kickoff. He would walk off under his own power and return in the second half.

The Cats would try to rally back at the start of the second half. Simpson would turn his first two carries of the half into the team’s first touchdown of the year, early in the third. That would be all for the Wildcat offense for the game. Simpson would leave the game after injuring his leg once again. The team went down with him.

Palatine would score once more during the game to take a 25-7 lead. An uneventful fourth quarter lead to demoralized Cats fans exiting the game early, leaving only a small handful in for the final minutes of the quarter.