West Bloomfield scores 24 unanswered in 24-6 win over Utica Eisenhower

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — West Bloomfield, like most teams in the state, has battled the injury bug throughout the season. 

Its defensive depth has been tested this season, and if it’s going to be a state finals contender, it will have to rely on guys to step up under the bright lights. 

Forcing three interceptions, West Bloomfield’s defensive depth stepped up when the team needed it most as West Bloomfield beat Utica Eisenhower 24-6 on Nov. 3 at Swinehart Stadium.

“I’m just so proud of them because we’ve had so many guys step up with kids getting hurt, and it’s just been the next guy up and the next guy up,” West Bloomfield coach Zach Hilbers said. “It’s a hard thing to tell a 15-, 16-, or 17-year-old to wait your turn, and so many of them have done it and answered the bell. It’s so great as a coach to see that happen.”

One of those young players is junior Jaiden Allos, who made his impact felt both on special teams and in the secondary.

Allos boomed a punt down to the Eisenhower 10-yard line to pin the offensive unit early in the third quarter, and if his punt wasn’t enough, he hadt a 13-yard pick-six to give the Lakers a 12-6 lead. Allos tallied two interceptions in the win.

The Lakers defensive unit was dominant at every level throughout the matchup, forcing Eisenhower to go into max protection on the offensive line.

Once Eisenhower transitioned into max protection, the West Bloomfield secondary of seniors Bryce Rowe, Justin Tyler, Jamir Benjamin and Nigel Dunton was able to do what it does best. Tyler tallied an interception in the win.

“With the max protect also, they also had less than three seconds to throw the ball away with Brandon Davis-Swain, JG (Jonathan Gabriel) rushing them, and X (Xzavier Davis) rushing them,” Rowe said. “The rush was crazy. We knew that they didn’t have time to throw the deep balls they wanted to throw out, but they were going to throw the ball a little bit quicker. It just changed the game plan for them and helped us out.”

While the defense took care of business, West Bloomfield senior quarterback Reqez Nance was impressive again with 232 passing yards and three touchdowns in the win.

Following Allos’ pick-six, Nance connected with junior wide receiver Elisha Durham on back-to-back drives for touchdown passes of 33 and 17 yards to extend the Lakers’ lead to 24-6. Both touchdowns were separated by just over a minute on the clock.

West Bloomfield was set up for great field position on both touchdown throws by effective punt returns from Dunton.

Dunton returned the first punt to the Eisenhower 23-yard line and the second to the Eisenhower 17-yard line. 

“We’ve been trying to block it up better for him (Dunton) and we finally did it right today,” Hilbers said. “We know he’s special when he gets the ball.”

Utica Eisenhower’s lone score came after senior quarterback Preston Crum connected with junior wideout Bryce Hurley for 40 yards on Eisenhower’s first drive of the game. Crum finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to junior Conner Temple to take an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter.

Nance would find senior Davis-Swain for a 20-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to open up the scoring for the Lakers just before the end of the first half.

West Bloomfield will now face Clarkston in the regional finals in an Oakland Activities Association Red matchup on Nov. 10 at West Bloomfield High School. The two teams faced off on Sept. 29 when Clarkston upset the Lakers in a 44-36 win.

Rowe said the team’s chemistry is what has bonded the team throughout the season and has continued to bring the team together during the playoffs.

“It’s a brotherhood,” Rowe said. “We’ve become such a brotherhood over the past 10-11 weeks now. It’s been a beautiful thing to see the team grow from where we started.”