Junior running back Drew Wheat (5) is closing in on the 1,000-yard milestone this season.
Daily Journal file photos
In typical brotherly fashion, neither Brandon nor Drew Wheat will surrender the distinction each feels is his.
Ask Brandon, Center Grove’s split end and kick returner, who is the fastest runner in a family in which swift individuals aren’t in short supply, and no words are needed. The senior’s facial expression reveals that in his opinion, it’s — well, not his younger sibling.
Junior running back Drew’s response is basically a carbon copy — even the part about refusing to glance at his brother, standing only a few feet away, while answering.
It’s all in good fun and, frankly, up to a stopwatch to decide.
Based on results from last track season, the time disparities between Brandon and Drew are miniscule. A tenth of a second here, two-tenths of a second there. It all depends on the distance of race, the type of track, relay split times and so on.
However, when conducting business on a football field, all-weather turf or grass, their styles of arriving at a destination couldn’t be more dissimilar.
Brandon, who has 17 receptions for 320 yards and three touchdowns this season, is more of a straight-line, Point A to Point B athlete. It’s a style that has helped the 5-foot-10, 170-pounder average a somewhat ridiculous norm of 42.2 yards on six kickoff returns this season.
Drew Wheat, a fearless 5-9, 155-pound array of stops, starts, cutbacks and a knack for hitting the afterburners at precisely the right moment, is the Trojans’ leading rusher, with only 13 yards needed to reach 1,000 for the season. He’s made nine catches for 154 yards and a pair of scores.
“Drew is here, here, here, here, here,” said Center Grove coach Eric Moore, using his hand to demonstrate the junior’s ability to quickly change direction. “He’s like a jitterbug. A jitterbug that can break the long run, where Brandon just runs by everybody and is, ‘Throw me the ball.’
“Drew is that guy who can run full speed for eight yards, then cut that alley. … Some of the jump cuts he’s made this year …”
No Drew Wheat highlight reel would be complete without the 26-yard touchdown run he made in the opening half of Center Grove’s 29-19 regional victory at Lawrence North.
What first appeared to be a minimal gain against the stout Wildcats defense wound up going the distance after Wheat started left, cut back to the middle, located the crease he needed and was gone.
In all, there are four Wheat siblings, the two boys bookended by older and younger sisters. The eldest, Ashley, was the family’s first serious set of wheels, representing Center Grove girls track at the state meet before graduating in 2018.
“We’re all pretty fast,” Brandon said. “When Drew and I were real young, we would race my sister, and she would always beat us. But as we got older, we started beating her. I started running track in middle school, but would always go to (Ashley’s) meets and see her run and watch the guys run.
“It was just awesome to see.”
In June, Brandon placed third in the 200-meter dash and fifth in the 100 at the state meet at Ben Davis. Both he and Drew were part of the runner-up 4×100 relay; Drew competed for the sixth-place 4×400 relay. Current football teammates Micah Coyle, Zach Greller and Tayven Jackson were also contributing sprinters in Center Grove placing third in the final team standings.
As for the brothers Wheat, being teammates in two sports as often as they have has been a positive — regardless of which one is faster.
“When I was growing up, I watched him, and it always motivated me seeing how fast he is and wanted me to succeed in track and football,” Drew Wheat said. “As we’ve grown up, I think we’ve gotten a lot closer to each other.”
