Down 14-0 early to Plainfield Central in the first quarter, Plainfield North went to the arm of quarterback Kurt Palandech to turn around this crosstown Southwest Prairie Conference matchup Friday night at Plainfield North High School.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound junior signal-caller got his offense in gear, throwing for three touchdowns on 17 of 26 passes for 264 yards in the Tigers’ 35-28 victory. North evens its record at 2-2 and 1-1.

“Kurt is such a great kid. I am so glad he bounced back after the game we had last week as a team,” said Plainfield North coach Tim Kane, who has a record of 24-27 running the Tigers’ program. “I was really proud how we persevered the way we did and made plays on both sides of the ball.”

Gino Giarratano, who had eight carries for 118 yards, scored on runs of eight and 58 yards to give the Wildcats (2-2, 0-2) an early 14-0 advantage.

In the second quarter, Jay Roberts (one-yard run at 8:46) and Quest Young (74-yard pass from Palandech at 5:52) tied the game for North at 14. Central retook the lead on Tyler Erdman's one-yard run with 1:36 remaining. Roberts (19 carries for 122 yards; two catches for 40 yards) took a screen pass from Palandech 26 yards for a North score with 7.4 seconds left to tie it.

“Jay (Roberts) did a great job,” Kane said. “He didn’t come off the field much at all. I think he runs the ball fairly hard, puts his pads down and gets some tough yards for us.”

Matt Fenza's 25-yard touchdown catch and Roberts' 44-yard run helped North take control in the third with a 35-21 lead. Central's Jordan Ellingwood's five-yard run with 3:27 left in the fourth pulled the Wildcats close.

Ellingwood was the game’s leading rusher with 172 yards on 15 carries. Young had five catches for 124 yards, Fenza had four for 55 and Alex Starks had five for 23 for North.

The varsity football rivalry between the two Plainfield schools began in 2006. Central won the first three contests (49-0 in 2006, 21-6 in 2007 and 16-14 in 2008). North won the next two games, 28-17 in 2009 and 33-14 last season. Now the series is tied at 3.

“I thought we played really well”, said Plainfield Central coach John Jackson, who has a record of 74-65 heading the Wildcats’ program. “Offensively, we moved the ball well, but shot ourselves in the foot at times. We made some crucial mistakes here and there. We fought hard, defensively. You have to give them a little credit. They had a good game plan. They knew they were going to have difficulty running on us, consequently they threw. I’m very proud of my kids. They fought hard.”

Up next for Central is a home date Friday against Oswego East, while North travels to Romeoville.