Sports

Bloom Township Miscues Lead to Rich Central Football Victory

The Blazing Trojans tried to rally late, but early mistakes cost Bloom on homecoming weekend in a 41-25 loss to Rich Central.

Protect the ball and protect your quarterback, two keys to victory for any football team.

For the Bloom Township Blazing Trojans , those keys could have unlocked the doorway to victory against the Rich Central Olympians  on Saturday. However, the Blazing Trojans couldn't keep quarterback LaVante Blackful's jersey clean and didn't take care of the ball in a 41-25 loss  at home during homecoming weekend.

“We just had some mental breakdowns, some miscues here and there and the kinds let it effect them,” Bloom Township coach Tony Palombi said.

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With Blackful under pressure all day, it was the do-it-all junior who tried to will his team to victory but couldn't muster enough to magic to get the job done. On the day, Blackful finished with 122 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown and a fumble and 191 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions through the air.

“There were times (Blackful) didn't have time to set his feet and throw,” Palombi said. “It's just finishing your job, that's what we yell out (during the game). We're all at the right places, but there's times we don't finish it.”

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Rich Central on the other hand, did finish its job, taking a seven-point lead at halftime and turning it into a 21-point lead in the third quarter to effectively ice the game. The Olympians picked up scores through the air, on the ground and from their defense in the second half to earn the win.

“I think we played well, I think we played a Bloom team that always plays hard, they're great kids,” said Terrell Alexander, coach of Rich Central. “I think our kids were a little bit more precise and made some plays when we needed to.”


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