Angel Maldonado scored three touchdowns, including one for a season-long 73-yards, to lead Leyden to a 25-7 victory over host Palatine in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs Saturday night.

The senior tailback ran for 248 yards on 26 carries and the Eagles, seeded ninth, had 345 total offensive yards to improved to 8-2 on the season. Palatine (8) ended the season 7-3.

The Eagles will host defending 8A champion and No. 1-ranked Maine South on Saturday night. Game time will be announced Monday. It will be the first time since 1998 that Leyden has had a home playoff game.

“I don’t think anybody gave us a chance because our school name is Leyden and no body knows who we are,” said Maldonado, who had touchdowns runs of nine, 73 and 19 yards. “This was a statement game. It was huge for us.”

Leyden dominated the game, jumping out to a 12-0 lead early in the second quarter before heading into halftime up 12-7. Maldonado rolled up 135 yards in the first half as the Pirates struggled to stop him.

“The (offensive) line played great,” Maldonado said. “Coming into the game, I didn’t know how good their (defensive) line would be. I was confident my line would move them off the ball.”

The Eagles’ final touchdown was scored on a 34-yard pass from David Rose to Adam Bielech midway through the fourth quarter.

Palatine only touchdown was on a 4-yard run by Pirates quarterback Cody Bobbit just before halftime. Bobbit was 21-for-29 for 191 yards passing, but he was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter when the Pirates were deep in Leyden territory. Bobbit also was sacked three times.

“We talked all week about turning it up a notch and raising the level of play,” Leyden head coach Tom Cerasani said. “It was close to a perfect game for us. The two picks (by Victor Fuentes) were big and they couldn’t run the ball. Both lines played great.”

Palatine had 67 yards on the ground and 191 passing.