Elk Grove has winning attitude

Attitude makes a difference.

At Elk Grove, it's made the difference between two wins all of last year and four already this year for the varsity football team after Friday night's 35-6 decision at Wheeling.

With a 4-1 record now (1-0 in the Mid-Suburban East), "I have got to give a lot of credit to the way we, as a staff, have approached this group," first-year head coach Brian Doll said after the win. "We only allow our staff and players to talk about positive things."

It has paid off. And you can see it in their performance. The Grens found a way to break through the slop and spring quarterback Nick Meyer four times for touchdowns against the hosts, all in the first half. Carrying the ball almost exclusively to avoid excessive ballhandling and risking turnovers, Meyer bolted 57, 73, 68 and 2 yards for first-half scores and a 28-0 halftime lead.

"Our offensive line - all we've been saying is we need to get a big push," he noted, and they got it those four times. Each TD was on an off-tackle slant and Meyer credited Adrian Poltorzycki and Co. for his success.

Elk Grove made it a point to come out strong, Meyer noted, and not have to scramble from behind and come up short like Week 2 against Palatine in its only loss.

"A lot of it is the fantastic coaching," said Meyer, who added a 25-yard, second-half scoring pass to Joey Bishoff. It was Bishoff and Kyle Pfister who "led the way for us on defense," said Doll, whose team held Wheeling to just 32 total first-half yards. Meyer finished with 18 carries for 260 yards.

"We just didn't execute," on defense, said Wheeling coach Dave Dunbar. "We had some missed assignments," on Meyer's breakaway runs.

And some misfires on offense. Three times Wheeling recovered Elk Grove fumbles in good field position or the red zone and all three times they couldn't score.

"We didn't capitalize," said Dunbar.

But they did get some heartening news. Weston Ross returned to the offensive backfield after missing three games and gained 136 yards, including a 60-yard dash for Wheeling's only score. But with games upcoming against Buffalo Grove and Prospect, the 'Cats know they'll have to have fewer than the 4 turnovers they did against Elk Grove.

The Grens too have Prospect upcoming in a game Doll said, "I know they want." By the same token, "I definitely don't think we've played our best game yet," he said, a game in which all aspects have executed close to perfection.