Meyer, Wary pave way for Elk Grove
Perhaps there is a weakness in Elk Grove's Mid-Suburban East armor after all.
The Grenadiers, favored to win the division, found Wheeling on Friday night gashing away, looking for them. And perhaps finding a few.
But not nearly enough. The Wildcats growled, and challenged, but the Grens, as usual, struck in the "Nick" of time, leaving everybody "Wary" of their prowess.
Quarterback Nick Meyer rang up 342 passing yards, 272 in the first half, and running back Mike Wary scored 3 touchdowns as the Grens held off an aggressive Wheeling squad 35-14.
Meyer was his usual cool, calm and efficient self, clicking on 24-of-41 passes, 18-of-31 in the first half. He regularly bought himself more time with his nimble feet against Wheeling's let-it-all-loose pass rush, finding Wary and Joey Bishoff for short TDs tosses in the first half after Wary ran one in from short range to open the scoring.
In fact, scoring on its first three possessions, Elk Grove (5-1, 2-0) looked as if it would never be stopped en route to a 28-7 halftime lead.
"It was fun, especially for the seniors," on Homecoming night, said Meyer, who lost Bishoff (6 catches, 101 yards, 1 TD) to a strained knee but said it didn't look as bad as the heavy tape job it got and crutches on which he stood.
In fact, that was one dent the Grens suffered. Starting offensive lineman Sean Majer went out with a knee injury and even Wary shook off cobwebs after taking a tough hit before leaving the game.
But perhaps the biggest cause for concern was the four picks Meyer tossed. Chris Johnson, who was everywhere, Leo Giordiano, Luke Smith and Eddie Williams all picked him off. The problem for Wheeling was not converting any of them into points.
"Our guys just battled, never gave up," said Wheeling (1-5, 0-2) coach Dave Dunbar. Quarterback Tyler Brady had a nice game (60 yards rushing, 82 passing), but Wheeling either self-destructed in the red zone or couldn't sustain drives from poor field position, which is what it had much of the game thanks to Elk Grove's aggressive special teams coverage and Wheeling's own penalty-prone execution.
"Tyler played like we expected him to play," which was up to the challenge of the heralded Meyer on the other sideline, said Dunbar. Wheeling was able to run the ball, especially in the second half, when Brady finally finished off a drive with a 20-yard TD to make it 28-14.
He was also able to connect with Billy Jamie, Kyle Batiz and Clark Jensen through the air. And the Cats even ran a successful fake punt on the Grens. But even after that and the four turnovers, Wheeling never could take advantage and make the game closer than 2 touchdowns, which is what it trailed by after the first quarter.
"Wheeling put pressure on us. They kept battling," said Meyer, trying to complete his comments before the post-game fireworks show, or as efficiently as he completed passes to Bishoff, Eddie Solorio (8 catches, 115 yards, 1 TD), Fernando Lozano (6 for 72 yards) and Wary.