Splon changes momentum for Wheeling
Although they blitzed Hoffman Estates with 20 points in the opening 9:52 and led by 17 at the break, the Wheeling Wildcats needed this stop.
With senior quarterback Frank Wadas (16-for-31, 184 yards) driving the Hawks 75 yards on their opening possession of the second half, the visitors were a mere 9 yards from making this lopsided Mid-Suburban League crossover a close football game.
But Wheeling junior defensive back Matt Splon slipped a screen and made a momentum-changing interception on a first-and-goal pass. Two plays later, Wheeling junior Weston Ross took a pitch left and raced up the sideline for an 80-yard touchdown - one of many big plays for the Wildcats (2-2) on Friday night as they snapped a two-game losing streak with a 39-3 victory over Hoffman (2-2).
"Hoffman runs that (screen) a lot," Splon said. "We saw that play on film all week."
You could have filled a room full of highlight reels with the Wheeling offense. Senior Michael Zimmer's 50-yard reverse down the right sideline on the Wildcats' first play from scrimmage was just a sign of big things to come as this offensive juggernaut added three more plays of at least 50 yards.
"Great offense, great special teams - they just gave us an old-fashioned butt-kicking from the opening play," said Hoffman coach Bill Helzer, whose team hosts Barrington next Friday.
Wheeling senior quarterback Matt Holmes (6-for-9, 95 yards) was the sparkplug early, capping off the first two drives with touchdown runs of 12 and 2 yards, respectively.
"We have to keep the ball rolling and keep winning," said Holmes, who carried 11 times for 93 yards.
Michael Barton put the Wildcats up 20-0 with 2:03 left in the first quarter as he took a punt from senior Chris Raufeisen and blew right past the Hawks' special teams for an 85-yard touchdown return.
A bright spot for the Hawks was sophomore kicker Niko Crambes, who nailed a 47-yard field goal with 9:17 left before halftime. He just missed another from that same distance two seconds before the break.