Elisha Durham of West Bloomfield (14) carries the ball during a first-quarter play. Eisenhower vs West Bloomfield on November 3, 2023. (DAVID DALTON for MediaNews Group)
The West Bloomfield Lakers defeated the Eisenhower Eagles 24-6 in the Division 1 Football Championship game on November 3.
The game started off in Eisenhower’s favor with them completing a touchdown in the first four minutes of the game, but West Bloomfield was playing to win by the third quarter.
“Well, they’re (Eagles) really good so it wasn’t the best start,” Zach Hilbers, West Bloomfield head football coach said. “So, I told them (Lakers) to stay on course and we came out right in that third quarter and played good football.”
HALF WAY TO THE TROPHY
The Lakers scored 18 in the third quarter after nothing in the second-quarter, #7 Wide Receiver Jaiden Allos, attributes that to the film they watched during halftime.
“We watched a lot of film; we were ready for the plays. I knew I was gonna make the quarterback throw that ball, and eventually he threw it, I took it to the house. We got a lot of momentum and we just kept scoring and going.” Allos said.
Reqez Nance, the senior quarterback says he focused on the talk they had where his coaches told them it was time to play football.
“It’s not time to have fun, it’s time to win games,” Nance recalls.
Six minutes into the third quarter, Allos completed a pick-6 with a 13-yard return.
Allos was just added to defense in week seven of this season and has shown his commitment to the game ever since; he had a pick-6 against Adams Highlanders on October 27 as well.
“Jaiden Allos stepped up big time for us with two-interceptions; one for a touchdown,” coach LeRon Jones said. “He’s been playing lights out the last three or four weeks.”
QUARTERBACK, WIDE RECEIVER DUO
Nance and Elisha Durham, wide receiver, were a duo in the third quarter, connecting for two touchdowns.
Nance completed a pass to Durham for a 33-yard touchdown bringing a 12-point lead against Eisenhower.
And then another touchdown on the first play of the drive about a minute later, bringing the score to 24-6.
“Elisha is a great player, that’s all I’ve got to say,” Nance said. He’s a playmaker. We’re both just playmakers.”
The first half resulted in a few penalties for the Lakers and during their halftime talk, Hilbers made sure to address the team’s energy.
“What we talked about was controlling what we can control,” Hilbers said. “You can’t control everything in football, you can’t control everything in life, but we can control what we do; our actions and our attitude.”
REDEMPTION AT QUARTERFINALS
The Lakers took home the championship trophy and are going to host a quarterfinal game against Clarkston on November 10.
Having lost against Clarkston during week six, West Bloomfield is preparing for redemption.
When asked what could be improved during this week of preparation, Coach Jones and Brandon Smith both responded with penalties.
“Definitely clean up the penalties. We can’t expect to play better teams in the playoffs with the amount of penalties that we had in the first half,” coach Smith said. “Other than that, we ran the ball pretty well… and I think that will be a staple for us going forward.
“I think once we clean up the penalties, we’re the best team in the state,” coach Jones said.
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