Bloom quarterback Juan Green came out firing Friday night to put Lincoln-Way West on upset alert.
With pinpoint accuracy, Green hit three receivers for touchdowns as Bloom stormed to a 20-3 lead.
West linebacker Jake Price took notice.
“Jeez, (Green) was zinging balls,” Price said. “He did not incomplete a pass, even on the run. He stayed in the pocket. He was calm, even with the rush and the blitzing.”
But fortunes changed quickly, and Price had a hand in that. With Bloom punting inside its own 10-yard line, he blocked the kick into the welcoming hands of Donte’ Barber, who returned it 3 yards for a touchdown just before halftime.
It was the push that West needed as the Warriors went on to beat Bloom 40-27 in New Lenox.
“Jake got the block and it just landed in my hands,” Barber said. “I didn’t expect it to be there. It changed the game for us. We knew we had it after that.”
West (2-0) rallied by sandwiching two TDs around Barber’s score in a 68-second span.
Ryan Robbins got it started with a 4-yard TD run, and Barber’s score came next. Then Justin LaBuhn took the first play of the third quarter 70 yards for a TD to give West a 23-20 lead.
LaBuhn finished with 212 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries. His last score came on a 28-yard run with 18 seconds remaining.
“(Bloom) came out really strong, but we had to overcome it,” said LaBuhn, who credited the play of his offensive line. “We underestimated their capabilities on defense. Strength, speed all that. But we’re the best second-half team in the state, and I fully believe that.”
LaBuhn then scored on a 12-yard run to give West a 30-20 lead. Bloom (1-1) made it a one-score game early in the fourth when Green hit Princeton Nathan for his second TD reception. Green finished 16-for-37 for 251 yards and four TDs.
“Juan’s been pretty consistent with his (accuracy),” Bloom coach Tony Palombi said.
“We had to switch our defense up,” Price said. “We usually run a 4-3 but we went to a 3-4 instead.”
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The switch slowed Bloom’s offense, and Hunter Valentine helped put the game on ice with a fourth-quarter interception.
T.J. Harvey and Jovante Slater added touchdown receptions for Bloom.
“Their line and their fullback started taking it to us,” Palombi said of West’s second-half success on the ground.
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.