Brady, Wheeling handle Hoffman Estates

It only seems like Wheeling quarterback Tyler Brady started Friday night's game at Hoffman Estates as a sophomore and finished it as a senior.

He's still a sophomore, but he's playing less and less like one on the 2-0 varsity as he paced Wheeling's 21-6, extremely hard-fought Mid-Suburban divisional crossover win.

For Brady, it's the pieces he has around him that make his maturity seem beyond his years. He pointed to fellow underclassmen Adrian Ward (6 carries, 14 yards and Wheeling's first TD) and Ed Scanlon (4 carries, 41 yards, 2 TDs) among the players who make his job easier. They both got more carries as starter Weston Ross sat out with an injury.

"Adrian Ward, he worked hard, and Scanlon," said Brady, who rushed for 75 yards himself, deftly handling Wheeling's option offense behind Miguel Huerta, Matt Robbins, Dan Gutierrez and Jack Hurley. "Our offensive line is great."

It had to be. Hoffman's defense consistently turned Wheeling away for the first 23 minutes, 37 seconds of the first half till Ward burst over from the 2. Until then, Wheeling had squandered some good field position and big plays, including a 60-yard run and a 21-yard pass reception from slippery tailback Edgar Banuelos.

Hoffman's Paul Albani and Doni Ballazhi led an effort by Hoffman's defensive front that forced 11 runs for losses. Fortunately for Wheeling, defensive coordinator Brian Hauck made the adjustments, said head coach Dave Dunbar, that enabled Wheeling to hold off Hoffman's Bryan Proskey and Co. until Wheeling could get it going on offense.

Hoffman, coming off a shellacking against powerhouse Bartlett, "- responded pretty well," said Hawks coach Bill Helzer. "We came out with a good fire."

And Hoffman Estates almost parlayed it into a lead, save for five first-half penalties and a couple of dropped passes, including one that might have gone for a TD. The Hawks maintained some ball control with Foyin Alade (20 carries, 99 yards) keying that effort.

But the Hawks (0-2) didn't score until almost a minute was left on a Shamar McFarland 6-yard run. "We're not clicking on all cylinders," said Helzer. "Every time we felt we'd get over that hump, we shot ourselves in the foot."

Or got shot by Wheeling defensive end Mike Widmer, who spent the game in Proskey's face, blowing up plays. With Chris Johnson, Scanlon and solid two-way player Matt Splon chipping in, Wheeling's defense had an answer until just 1:30 was left in the game.

"Mike Widmer had a great game," said Dunbar. And as to Brady, "He's showing a lot of leadership. He just needs to continue to grow."

Don't tell that to Hoffman.