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Buffalo Grove offense racks up 485 yards in win against Wheeling

Friday night, the Buffalo Grove offense became a little more dynamic thanks to sophomore running back Cole Nixon.

Nixon scored two of his season-high 3 touchdowns in the Bison's 48-20 Homecoming win.

"Cole has grown for us throughout the year," said Buffalo Grove coach Jeff Vlk. "He's a sophomore, a young kid, and he was a little frustrated early in the year about his production."

Nixon had a confidence boost with 101 yards rushing on 6 carries. He also caught a Mark Antonetti pass for 14 yards.

The Bison offense came up with big scoring plays all night in the Mid-Suburban East contest with neighborhood rival Wheeling.

Max Oberman had a big night of his own with 4 touchdowns, matching his total against Niles North two weeks ago. He had three others called back due to holding penalties.

Oberman rushed 8 times for 204 yards and caught 2 passes for 59 yards, one of which was a 25-yard pass from Antonetti, who was 4 of 7 for 102 yards.

"It was important for us to win this game," said Cole. "Tonight we were looking for ways to get it into the end zone and come out victorious. We're excited for the win because it keeps us state (playoff) eligible. I was happy with my game because it was my best game this season."

Nixon capped Buffalo Grove's first drive with a 7- yard run with 10:30 left in the first quarter. The drive went 77 yards in 6 plays. An Antonetti to Oberman 34-yard pass play was the key.

The Wildcats (0-6, 0-2) tied the game at 7-7 on Paul Ufir's 3-yard run with 4:08 left in the quarter.

"When we tied it at seven, it gave us some energy and belief," said Wheeling coach Brian Hauck, "but they came back and made some big plays. They have some nice players. We weren't ready to contain them. We have to go back to the drawing board and keep trying."

Oberman gave the Bison (3-3, 1-1) the lead at 14-7 on his 21-yard run with 4:08 left in the quarter.

Oberman made the score 20-6 on his 68-yard run following a Wildcat punt with 53 seconds remaining in the quarter.

The Biosn scored on all three of their second-quarter possessions.

Oberman scampered in on a 52-yard burst. Nixon wove his way through traffic on a 41-yard run before Oberman tallied on a 25-yard pass from Antonetti.

"I was joking with our offensive coordinator before the game that I wanted to keep our defense off the field, and to do that I wanted to grind out the running game," said Vlk. "We'll take the scores however we can get them. The thing about our offense is that you never know who's going to break free."

Buffalo Grove accounted for 485 yards of offense, of which 376 came on the ground. Oberman credited the offensive line of Victor Allen, Thomas Marienau, Amar Bumanzul, Michael Julian and Joe Verdico.

"The offensive line was amazing," he said. "We had no problems. We had all the time we needed for passing, and when we ran, the holes were there. Every drive we had was smooth. We stayed on top of our game by focusing on our fundamentals. We were prepared, and were not overconfident."

The Wildcats, who lost wide receiver Daniel Provost in the first quarter to injury, tallied 2 touchdowns in the second half.

Quarterback Austin Hambd (9 of 19, 149 yards) scored on a 7-yard run in the third quarter. Jesus Delgado scored from the 8-yard line in the fourth quarter.

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