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Courage carries Wheeling

Since he took over the head coaching job at Wheeling just a little over two years ago, coach Brent Pearlman has been waiting for his Wildcats to show some courage.

And on Friday in Wheeling, Amani Dennis and the rest of his teammates showed that Pearlman's patience had paid dividends.

Dennis made a spectacular 19-yard touchdown run with 31.3 seconds left and Tyler Urban had a fumble return on the ensuing kickoff to cap a sterling finish for the Wildcats as they upended Palatine 31-21.

"I think our kids are so resilient," Pearlman said. "With all the penalties and the things that were happening that were slowing ourselves down with. But at the end, just great courage. It is the first time since I have been here that the program was able to take another step and play with incredible courage at the end of the game."

Wheeling, which is 2-1 for the first time since 2007, showed that courage on the final drive.

The Wildcats found themselves trailing 21-17 with 6:07 to play and the ball on their own 28. Palatine (1-2) had just taken the lead on a tremendous catch by Matt Lamm. The junior took the ball away from a Wheeling defender in the corner of the end zone to complete a 38-yard touchdown pass from Nick Orlando (9-of-14, 131yards) as the Pirates seemed poised to claim victory.

But Dennis and Wheeling would have none of that as the Wildcats put together 15-play scoring drive which was almost all Dennis.

The senior quarterback ran the ball 9 times for 77 yards and completed a pass during the drive. But his best play came just after the Wildcats were called for holding inside the 10. It was Wheeling's sixth penalty in the red zone.

Facing first-and-goal at the 19 with less than 42 seconds to play, Dennis talked Pearlman and the Wheeling coaching staff into running an option play.

"Amani said he knew the play would work,"Pearlman said. "I have no reason not to trust his judgement, so we went with it."

Dennis took the ball and ran to his right, he then faked a pitch to running back Josh Diaz.

"I saw their linebacker closing on Diaz," Dennis said. "So I faked the pitch and began to run."

But instead of continuing to his right, Dennis completely reversed his field, cutting back against the grain to the left. He picked up a pair of blocks and then broke a tackle at the 2 before scoring.

"I just made a cut and I was in the end zone," said Dennis, who rushed for 164 yards on 26 carries and threw for 133 yards on 12-of-20 passing. "This was a huge win for all of us. This was the step we needed because this was a win that people didn't think we could get."

After missing the first two games of the season with a sprained ankle, Isaac Brach was ready to help his team.

With Branch back in the field Wheeling was able to be methodical on the first possession of the game. The Wildcats went 80 yards in 17 plays with Branch scoring over the right tackle on a fourth and goal play from the 1.

"It felt great to be back out there," said Branch, who finished with 77 yards on 20 carries. "Our line really has improved a lot from last year and it was good to be behind then again."

Palatine wasted little time in tying the game. The Pirates went 65 yards in just 4 plays with Chris Cornelius,who was the area's top rusher, bolting for a 39-yard touchdown to make it 7-7.

Penalties killed Wheeling's chances at more points in the first half. The Wildcats had four flags inside the red zone in the first half and had 9 penalties for 75 yards in the opening half.

It was Palatine's turn to be methodical to start the second half. The Pirates took the kickoff and marched 88 yards a in 14 plays. Cornelius (19 carries, 131 yards) capped the drive with a 6-yard run to make it 14-7.

After a 40-yard kickoff return by Dylan Drake, Wheeling went back to work. Dennis had a 9-yard touchdown run with 2:43 left in the third quarter that tied the game at 14.

Wheeling mounted another long scoring drive early in the fourth quarter. But when it finally sputtered, Felipe Trujillo nailed a 35-yard field goal to put the Wildcats up 17-14 with 7:58 to play.

It took Palatine just 1:51 to regain the lead. But the Pirates watched as Wheeling mounted the final scoring drive as the Wildcats ran 73 plays to Palatine's 43.

Urban closed out the scoring when he picked up a fumble on the kickoff after a huge hit by Zach Lett.

"He just hit him and I saw the ball pop out," Urban said. "It was just scoop and score from there."

Palatine coach Rick Splitt was disappointed in his team's play.

"Their athletes beat us," Splitt said. "They played a great football game and we did not."

Images: Wheeling vs. Palatine football

  Wheeling's Amani Dennis gains yardage but Palatine's Mikalos Jackson is there to limit the pickup in the first half Friday at Wheeling. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  Wheeling's Isaac Branch and teammate Tyler Urban celebrate Branch's first quarter-touchdown against Palatine on Friday. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  Wheeling's Isaac Branch runs for yardage in the first quarter against Palatine's defense at Wheeling on Friday. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  Palatine's Christopher Cornelius squirts through the defensive line of Wheeling for a touchdown at Wheeling on Friday. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  Palatine's Joey Roy tries unsuccessfully to haul in a pass as Wheeling's defense rushes him on Friday. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
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