West Bloomfield football rolls Rochester Adams in MHSAA playoffs
WEST BLOOMFIELD, MICHIGAN -- The No. 7 West Bloomfield Lakers (8-2) defeated the Adams Highlanders (6-4) 42 - 14 in a Division I district semifinal game. The Highlanders scored the first points of the game early on, but West Bloomfield was able to shut them down for the remainder of the game.
Senior Laker quarterback Reqez Nance finished the game with two rushing touchdowns, and he was efficient through the air all night.
Senior Laker DE/TE Brandon Davis-Swain had two touchdowns, one on the ground and one receiving. Davis-Swain was also a big part of the West Bloomfield defense on the way to the victory.
West Bloomfield advances to take on Uitca Eisenhower in a district final.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Lakers ran away with it
Sophomore Adams quarterback Ryland Watters scored the first points of the game on a 6-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter.
The next Adams score wouldn’t come until midway through the fourth, and the Lakers scored 42 unanswered points in between.
The Highlanders didn’t have much time to throw the ball, and the Lakers’ defense also played well on the back end. Early in the second quarter, junior West Bloomfield safety Jaiden Allos took a one handed interception back for a touchdown to put his team up 14-7.
West Bloomfield head coach Zach Hilbers said Allos has made the most of his opportunities.
“That kid really stepped up with the interception,” Hilbers said. “He played a ton of offense early in the year. We’ve had some injuries on defense (so) we’ve switched some things up and he’s stepped up the last two or three weeks and played a lot on that side of the ball and made a big difference.”
Versatile big man
Senior West Bloomfield DE/TE Brandon Davis-Swain (Colorado commit) is listed at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds.
During Friday night’s game, Davis-Swain showed everyone why he’s set to play big time college football next year, no matter where he lines up.
Davis-Swain was causing a lot of problems for the Adams offensive line, and he said a mid-game adjustment gave him the edge.
“We had to make an adjustment because they were chop-blocking, and I was telling the coaches,” Davis-Swain said. “They said to move to a four (technique) and they couldn’t chop-block that much because I’m too close if I’m head up on them.”
Davis-Swain had one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown to go with his defensive effort.
Senior West Bloomfield quarterback Reqez Nance played a clean game, and he ran the offense with ease against the Highlanders. Nance finished with over 150 total yards and three touchdowns, including two on the ground.
Hilbers said Nance has seen it all.
“He’s been with us for four years now, we called him up his freshman year,” Hilbers said. “He’s seen us all the way to Ford Field, he’s seen a first round exit, and he’s seen a close regional loss to Adams so the kid has been through it all. It’s legitimately like having a coach out there. I know it's cliché but he knows our offense inside and out.”
Finale for Prieskorn
Senior Adams tight end Brady Prieskorn (Michigan commit) saw his Michigan high school football career come to an end Friday night. The tall veteran was only targeted a handful of times, and he came out of the game for a knee injury twice.
West Bloomfield’s secondary made sure every time the ball went in the direction of Prieskorn, it was contested.
Hilbers said he tried to show Prieskorn different looks on defense.
“You have to mix up what you do,” Hilbers said. “We tried to change it up from the first time and change it up throughout the game, just how we guard him. There’s times when you do everything right and can make the play still. He’s so big, he’s so strong and he’s such a good player. He’s going to have a great future."
