Well-grounded Wheeling wins at Elk Grove

Wheeling coach Brent Pearlman could not recall ever winning a football game when his team did not a complete a pass.

But when you have a quarterback and running back as elusive as Amani Dennis and Isaac Branch were on Thursday night, it can become a reality.

Branch raced for 130 yards while Dennis took off for 78 including touchdown runs of 12 and 2 yards while the Wildcats' defense came up with the clutch stops to escape Elk Grove at Robert Haskell Memorial Stadium with a 14-9 triumph.

"I thought we bent a little, but we really didn't break," said senior linebacker Martin Falkiner of the Wildcats' defensive effort that stepped up big when the Grens advanced to the red zone twice in the fourth quarter.

"I thought we did a good job limiting the big plays. We did well responding after they'd pick up a few yards on us. We definitely have things to improve on, but we came away with a win for now."

The win evened the Wildcats' record at 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Mid-Suburban East.

"I can't really walk off the field saying I liked everything I saw, but our kids fought hard," Pearlman said. "Elk Grove had the ball the whole second half. I thought our defense showed courage. Somehow we scrapped out a win."

A win with a few missing components.

"We have a lot of kids hurt and guys stepping in for them, so that's a good thing," Pearlman said. "That's a huge credit to those kids who stepped in."

Elk Grove (0-6, 0-2) was also missing key players. Right tackle Daniel Dalenberg, who Grens coach Larry Calhoun considers a top prospect, injured a knee midway through the first quarter.

"We're hoping its not a tear and that he'll be OK," Calhoun said. "And we were without two of our top receivers. We're beat up, but I'm sure everyone else is, too."

The Grens, who received 130 yards rushing from junior Azeez Alabi, tied the game at 7-7 when Sean Fege threw a 6-yard TD pass to Mathew Wary with 11:54 left in the second quarter.

But Wheeling answered right back in 4 plays with a 28-yard run by Branch, a 21-yard keeper around left end by Dennis and then a pair of 2-yard runs by the quarterback.

"Our offensive line (Alec Gaffin, Juan Hernandez, Kyle Hall, Yony Medina and Chahal Boo) opened up the holes," Dennis said. "I had to find a way to get our team going. It was kind of an ugly win, but we'll take it. Systematically, we were prepared very well. It came down to execution which sometimes we did, and sometimes we didn't."

Dennis also helped the defense with his interception in the end zone which he ran back to the 3-yard line.

But on the Wildcats next offensive play, a fumble resulted in Elk Grove coming up with a safety to make it 14-9 with 7:22 left in the first half. That capped the night's scoring.

"Our defensive philosophy was to make them beat us throwing the football," Calhoun said. "So we executed that well (the Wildcats were 0-for-7). But we've got to score when we are in the red zone. I'm the offensive coordinator and the head coach, so you've got to hang that one me.

"No excuses, Sometimes we just get in our own way. The kids are battling and I'm proud of them."