Sports
Football: Turnovers Plague Bloom Township in Opening Loss to Thornwood
Thornwood 28, Bloom 14: Blazing Trojans turn ball over twice on T-Birds goal line and are unable to overcome those miscues.
Breaking It Down: Bloom Township suffered a frustrating 28-14 season-opening football loss to Thornwood Saturday at home. Trailing 8-0 midway through the second quarter, the Blazing Trojans had the ball first-and-goal inside the T-Birds' 10. On third down, however, quarterback LaVante Blackful threw an interception in the end zone.
The T-Birds posted the lone score of the first half on a 75-yard scamper by Raheem Gardner. Gardner scored two more touchdowns in the second half to seemingly put the game out of reach at 21-0.
But the Blazing Trojans again appeared to be on the verge of scoring their first points when Blackful hooked up with wideout Jason Mendez at the 5. As Mendez scrambled to the end zone, he fumbled and the T-Birds recovered at their own 2.
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The Blazing Trojans looked lifeless in the fourth quarter until Jalen Thomas picked up a T-Bird fumble and returned it for a touchdown to provide the Bloom highlight of the game. The Blazing Trojans tacked on a late score when Blackful hooked up with Mendez for a touchdown.
Patch’s MVP: Raheem Gardner, Thornwood. He rushed for three of the T-Birds four touchdowns, highlighted by a 75-yard run in the second quarter that broke a scoreless tie.
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Bloom Township Stat Pack: Jalen Thomas recovered a fumble and scored a touchdown, Jason Mendez added a touchdown reception. But the Blazing Trojans were guilty of two turnovers inside the T-Birds' 5.
Thornwood Stat Pack: The T-Birds rushed for more than 200 yards and scored all four of their touchdowns on the ground. Raheem Gardner had a 75-yard TD run.
Quotable I: "This game is about blocking and tackling, and when we did that we looked good," Blazing Trojan coach Tony Palombi said.
Quotable II: "We have a lot of work to do," Blazing Trojans quarterback LaVante Blackful said. "We just can't give it up like that near their end zone."
Team Records: Bloom Township is 0-1. Thornwood is 1-0.
What’s Next: Bloom Township plays host to Glenbard South at noon on Saturday, Sept. 3. It's the second of four straight home games to start the season for the Blazing Trojans.
