Lincoln-Way West’s football game against Bloom started nearly two hours late due to lightning delays. And through two quarters, West’s offense similarly was off schedule.
Bloom limited the Warriors to 55 first-half yards in taking a 6-0 lead. However, the second half was a different a story. Running back Gabe Montalvo got the pendulum swinging as West rallied for a 27-13 victory Saturday afternoon in Chicago Heights.
“We put it on our O-line and (Montalvo) in the second half and told them first and second down would be runs for sure,” West coach Dave Ernst said. “We were going to live and die with those guys up front.”
After recording just six carries in the first half, Montalvo finished with 26 rushes for 181 yards and three touchdowns for the Warriors (2-0). He scored on runs of 17, 4 and 17 yards behind West’s massive offensive line, which is led by North Carolina State recruit Justin Witt and Nebraska-bound Bryan Brokop.
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Bloom (0-2) hung tough and led 13-6 after Cornell Washington’s electric 54-yard TD run, but the Blazing Trojans seemed to wear down as the game went on.
“They decided to come in and just power us in the second half,” Bloom coach Tony Palombi said. “They figured out they could stick it to us and we couldn’t stop them.”
Montalvo’s second TD cut Bloom’s lead to 13-12, and the Warriors went ahead less than five minutes later when Connor Lowman hit tight end Ben Zordani for a 66-yard TD on West’s next possession.
“We gashed them a lot with runs and that opened it up through the air,” Zordani said. “A ‘Sam’ linebacker blitzed and I just replaced him and was off to the races.”
Bloom had a few chances to strike back, but turned the ball over on consecutive fourth-quarter possessions. West’s Matthew Murphy recorded an interception in Blazing Trojans’ territory, while Jake Price added a fumble recovery after a botched snap on Bloom’s next possession.
“We were just trying to stop the rollout — stop the broken plays — and tackle,” said Murphy, a sophomore who also blocked an extra-point attempt. “They were pretty quick. We had to wrap up and bring them down.”
Washington became the focus of the Warriors’ defense. He managed 143 yards on 12 carries and hit KeAndre Coleman for a 14-yard TD, but Bloom never threatened to score in the decisive fourth quarter.
Juan Green (6-for-9, 107 yards) started at quarterback for Bloom, with Washington set to play defensive back after tweaking his ankle last week. But a helmet-to-helmet hit sent Green to the sideline and forced Washington to play both ways.
“I had to put Cornell back in, and on a humid day like (Saturday), the last thing you want is guys playing both ways,” Palombi said. “Did we lose? Yeah. But we were 100 times better than last week against Andrew.”
Linebacker Trey Telez was another playmaker for West and finished with three sacks.
Logan Malloy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.