Dreams finally come true

This was Wheeling's field of dreams Friday night.

Mobs of screaming students streamed onto the field. Senior linebacker-offensive lineman Justin Arvidson grabbed one of the huge Wildcats flags and proudly waved it high in the air.

"I love it," said Wheeling senior offensive lineman Peter Rothbart. "I love it."

And there is no shortage of reasons to love how this group overcame all sorts of odds and obstacles to finally bring football glory back to Wheeling with a 38-20 win over visiting Elk Grove.

An 11-year playoff drought?

Over -- as the Wildcats will wait tonight with teams across the state to find who they play next week.

"We definitely stepped up," Rothbart said. "At the beginning of the season we set our goals and this was one of them.

"Not many people believed we could do it."

So how about a 13-year drought without a conference title?

Gone -- as Wheeling will share the Mid-Suburban East crown with Rolling Meadows.

"That's unreal," Arvidson said. "We've been believing all the time and we're finally going to get some respect from the other schools around here."

And the memory of breaking a 35-game losing streak when this senior class was freshmen?

Forget it -- although the man who enjoyed the good and endured the bad remembered those who tried but were often simply outmanned.

"You guys back here helped set that foundation for us and you guys are part of it," said seventh-year head coach Dave Dunbar of his previous teams. "These guys kept following the success of the leaders from behind."

And Friday night was the reward for the perseverance for a first-class guy who had to endure times where it didn't appear there was any light at the end of the tunnel.

"At times I had to sell myself on doing the right things and moving forward," said Dunbar, who came to Wheeling in 1988 as an assistant to Rick Benedetto. "We had to keep hammering away in the offseason."

The Wildcats started building toward this with 2, 3 and 4 wins the last three seasons. This year had its own challenges with a 2-3 start and a 21-6 fourth-quarter deficit in Week 7 against Prospect.

But a dramatic rally for a 25-21 win set the stage for this night to remember.

"It shows a lot of character from us," Rothbart said. "I'm proud of everybody I play with."

That pride came pouring out Friday as Matt Holmes threw 2 beautiful touchdown passes to James Kurtz and running for another.

Abel Rangel and Pat Splon electrified the crowd with big kick returns. Rothbart, Christian Romo, Tim Schalz, MJ Schuetz and Arvidson took care of business up front.

The defense was in command early with Lucas Bledsoe, Danny Vargas, Garrett Pohlmeier, Ryan Whitecotton and Tim Powell getting first-half stops for losses.

It all led to a long-awaited celebration for Wheeling fans, players and Dunbar and his staff of alum Brian Hauck, Matt Mishler, Ron Paveglio and Matt Weber.

"It's been a long journey," Rothbart said with a smile. "But we finally got here."