Buffalo Grove defense blanks Wheeling
Any hint of a Buffalo Grove letdown after beating Prospect the previous week was nowhere in sight on Friday.
The Bison, celebrating Homecoming, picked up their second shutout of the season by blanking Wheeling 28-0 in the Mid-Suburban East.
The win keeps the Bison in a first-place divisional tie with Rolling Meadows; both sport 4-2 overall and 2-0 conference records.
"We just want to keep getting better each week. That's our goal," said Bison coach Jim Farrell. "Our defense played an exceptional game. In the muddy conditions, we had to take care of the ball and we did. We're used to this. We've played in several games in this type of condition."
The defense led by Kevin Mulligan, Zev Katz, John Angotti, Dan Recht and Jeremy Salzman were instruemental in holding the Wildcats (2-4, 0-2) to 161 yards. The Bison finished with 184 yards of offense.
"We knew they could run the ball," said Katz, who was in on 8 tackles. "We just kept ganging up on them."
Mulligan helped break the back of the Wildcats when he returned a punt 50 yards with 5:19 left in the third quarter to build a 21-0 lead.
"I was trapped on their sideline and I just reversed myself." said Mulligan, who rushed for 86 yards on 12 carries. "I saw a gap open up and I just ran through it."
Mulligan gave credit to quarterback Mike Garrity, who threw a key block in helping open up a 48-yard dash for the final Buffalo Grove touchdown with 9:50 left.
Wheeling's closest penetration was to the Bison 2-yard line late in the game. The Wildcats were hurt with a costly procedure penalty and then turned the ball over on downs after 2 incomplete passes.
"Coach (Farrell) stressed defense this week to us," said Mulligan. "We wanted to get the shutout. We're not complacent. We just want to continue winning."
"Our defense gave up some big plays," said Wheeling coach Dave Dunbar. " They capitalized on them. We just weren't able to sustain our drives."
Garrity (4-of-13 passing, 65 yards) connected with Mike Cornely with 3:05 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.
Buffalo Grove built a 14-0 lead with 9:36 left in the first half on John Angotti's 20-yard touchdown run.
Wheeling's Weston Ross returned to the Wildcats backfield and picked up 42 yards in the first half. A minor ankle injury sidelined him for most of the second half.