Elk Grove hangs on at Blaney Stadium
Elk Grove sophomore quarterback Adam O’Malley might have had a few butterflies prior to facing Buffalo Grove on Friday night at Grant Blaney Stadium.
If he did, he sure didn’t show any nerves once the game started.
O’Malley, called up to varsity and pressed into service due to injuries to starter Dejan Basara and backup Dylan Edwards, led the Grenadiers to a hard-fought 17-10 Mid-Suburban East football victory.
The sophomore was also the beneficiary of a staunch defensive effort, especially from the Grens secondary. Behind the outstanding play of defensive backs Jeff Miceli and Kishan Patel, Elk Grove allowed the Bison only 62 yards passing.
“It’s been a crazy week,” said Elk Grove coach Brian Doll, whose team persevered despite losing several players, including the two QBs, to injury in last Friday’s win over Schaumburg. “To be honest, I didn’t know what we were going to run until mid-week.”
Doll also wasn’t sure what to expect from his sophomore starter, but was impressed with what he saw against BG (1-4, 0-1).
“Adam may be young, but he’s got a great arm, and he’s a gamer,” Doll said. “He did a teriffic job once he got settled in.”
The host Bison got off to an early 10-0 lead behind a 21-yard scoring run by senior Alex Fritz (13 carries, 98 yards) and a 27-yard field goal from Kevin Cho.
But the Grens rebounded to close the gap on a 1-yard plunge by O’Malley just prior to halftime, a touchdown that was a big confidence-builder, according to the young quarterback.
“That showed me that I could step up and compete against guys at this level,” said O’Malley.
After halftime, the Grens’ defense kicked into high gear. Anchored by a solid front line that included 205-pound senior Greg Johnsen and 210-pound Martin Diaz, Elk Grove (4-1, 1-0) shut out the Bison in the second half, allowing BG only 85 yards of total offense in the final two quarters.
A fourth-quarter 17-yard touchdown pass from O’Malley to wide receiver Miceli put the Grens ahead 14-10, then Miceli put the icing on the cake with a late 21-yard field goal.
O’Malley, who finished with 7 completions for 93 yards in his debut (including a clutch second-half 46-yard strike to Miceli), gave a lot of the credit for his performance to Basara, the senior who will be lost for most of the season due to a shoulder injury suffered last week.
“He’s played a huge role in my development,” said O’Malley. “I owe everything to him.”
“Tonight,” added the sophomore, “our offensive line was rolling, we were moving the ball, and our coaches made some great calls to get Miceli loose. Jeff made a heck of a play on that touchdown catch — it was one of the most athletic plays I’ve ever seen.”