Ross, Wheeling down Maine West
The boss was Wheeling senior running back Weston Ross.
Rushing for a career-high 179 yards on 18 carries, Ross' 43-yard TD run with 9:07 left in the game capped the scoring in Wheeling's 27-13 victory over host Maine West on Friday night.
"That No. 23 (Ross) is a special player," said Maine West West coach Chris Hare of the Western Michigan recruit. "That's why he is a Division I athlete. You can only contain him so long. Our defense stepped up on him at times but just couldn't make all the plays."
The Warriors made big plays at the start, building a 10-0 lead behind running back and nose guard Charlie Vana's 38-yard TD run and a 33-yard field goal by Anes Kadaric.
But the Wildcats were able to able to nudge ahead 13-10 on Ross' 1-yard TD run and Tyler Brady's 32-yard TD pass to Edgar Banuelos with 1:27 left in the first half.
West quarterback Ron Gajewski (22-for-33, 204 yards) engineered a nifty drive with two nice passes to Jemery Stepanovich and Ethan Slapecki to set up a Kadaric's 37-yard field goal as time expired for a 13-13 tie.
"Our offensive line coach (Matt Weber) kind of got on the guys and they (Dan Guiterrez, Jack Hurley, Kyle Stanton, Tim Schalz and Matt Robbins) picked it up in the second half," said Wheeling coach Dave Dunbar.
"It was a very good win," Ross said. "I'm confident we can have a good season I always believe I can break tackle and score more touchdowns. The offensive line really picked it up in the second half."
After receiving the second-half kickoff, the Wildcats needed just three plays to score as Ross ripped off runs of 38 and 10 yards and then Brady (9-for-13 for 118 yards) and Banuelos hooked up again for a 30-yard TD pass, almost a carbon copy of the first-half TD.
"Chris (Hare) is doing a great job with them and they are moving in the right direction," Dunbar said.
"We can do some things," said Hare, whose team went with a no-huddle offense the whole way. "I'm definitely proud of the kids. We still believe in them. We'll bounce back."