Sports
Bloom Township's Effort Will Be Stored in Memory Banks for All Time
Blazing Trojans fight back on a day of ups-and-downs behind the leadership of quarterback LaVante Blackful. And the storms were powerful, too.
Despite dropping its second straight game to start the season, Bloom Township can take a collective pride in the effort it put forth on the football field Saturday against Glenbard South.
The Blazing Trojans trailed by two touchdowns before battling back and turning a potential blowout into a 30-28 thriller. There were many highlights, lowlights and, yes, even some loud noise from Mother Nature that will resonate in the memories of all in attendance for some time to come.
The weather quickly could sum up the type of game it was, bright and sunny at the start with temperatures reaching 90 degrees. Then, after 90 minutes of thunderstorms and two delays, it ended in overcast conditions and 70-degree weather.
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The fireworks started before the skies opened, Glenbard South striking on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Padera to running back Wesley Sanders. Sanders scored again and it looked like it was going to be a long day for the Blazing Trojans.
However, Bloom quarterback LaVante Blackful had other ideas and his running and passing enabled the Blazing Trojans to get right back into the game. Big plays set the tone for the rest of the game.
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And Blackful was one of the biggest of the big playmakers. He accounted for more than 350 yards total offense himself.
He scored his second touchdown on an act of willpower and a definition of the word teamwork as his Blazing Trojan teammates pushed him into the end zone. The Trojans turned the ball over inside their opponent's 5-yard line for the fourth time in two games.
But Shijuan Rogers turned the turnover around with his heads up play. He forced a fumble that caused the ball to fall into the end zone. Shaquille Payne came out of the pile with the ball and a touchdown for Bloom.
Glenbard South came back with a kickoff return to tie the score 28-28 after the Blazing Trojans grabbed their first lead of the season. And, then, a questionable safety call proved to be the difference, but you have to be impressed with the way the Blazing Trojans fought back just like they did in Week 1.
“We were right there in our first two games,” Blazing Trojans coach Tony Palombi said. “We've got to stop making mistakes and we will be fine.”
