Grant junior Nick Blencoe almost pulled off a rare defensive hat trick against Lakes on Thursday night.
More Top Picks Best Full Body Pillows For Side Sleepers
Blencoe intercepted two passes late in the first half but missed a golden chance for a third in the third quarter.
With teammate John Bolton putting together a highlight-filled performance in all three phases, the Bulldogs could afford some missed opportunities.
Bolton rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns, and Grant’s defense forced five turnovers in a 34-14 Northern Lake County Conference win in Fox Lake.
The Bulldogs (2-1, 2-1) rode a strong second-half surge on offense, scoring 20 points in the final two quarters to top visiting Lakes (0-3, 0-3).
The defense gave up just 88 yards in the first half. Blencoe said the defense was motivated to produce a better effort following a 31-7 loss to Grayslake North last week. He intercepted two passes in the final 2:02 of the first half to give the Bulldogs momentum heading into halftime.
“The first (interception) just came to me,” Blencoe said. “It was wide open, and the second one I knew I was going to get it. I was aiming to get to the house and almost did. I had some great blocks by my teammates.”
But Blencoe cracked a big smile when asked about his missed attempt at a third interception. The errant pass bounced off him and into the hands of a Lakes receiver for a long gain that led to the Eagles’ first touchdown. Blencoe has three interceptions this season.
“It deflected off my hands and into the receiver’s hand, and it went back behind me,” Blencoe said. “I was pretty mad about it. I should have four interceptions this season.”
Grant defensive lineman Alex Gomez had two sacks and another tackle for a loss. The 5-11, 220-pound junior said he struggled during the extended offseason with his workouts, but he’s excited to build off his solid showing early this season.
“I’m definitely going to be grinding over the summer,” Gomez said. “I have to keep on improving. My defensive line (guys) really helped me today. They put on a lot of pressure, which helped me.”
Grant coach Chris Robinson said Gomez is emerging as a reliable defensive player.
“I keep forgetting (Gomez) is a junior, just because of the way he plays,” Robinson said. “We move him around. We like to see how he responds. He loves to play football. He’s grown a lot over the year and a half.”
Bolton, an Augustana College recruit, was everywhere. He had 31 carries, gaining 68 yards in the first half and 74 yards in the second half. He also intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble off a bad punt snap, returned kicks and was the holder on extra-point attempts.
Bolton joked that “it’s hard to get tired when you are winning like this.”
He scored on touchdown runs of 1 yard, 21 yards and 12 yards to help the offense adjust after quarterback Rylan Art left early in the first quarter with a lower leg injury. Reserve quarterback Chris Perez ran for 64 yards and two touchdowns.
“Our quarterback went down, but Chris knows what he’s doing,” Bolton said. “Our offensive line is insane and played great.”
Lakes scored two second-half touchdowns but couldn’t overcome its first-half mistakes. Running back Amir Al Hindi led the offense with 55 yards rushing and a touchdown.
“We came back and kept fighting, and that’s all you can ask for as a coach, especially after an 0-2 start and getting down early tonight,” Lakes coach Jordan Eder said. “They kept playing hard, and we have to keep grinding away.”
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.