Romeo falls to West Bloomfield in D1 regional title game
WEST BLOOMFIELD » The Maize and Blue are licking their chops.
All-American running back Donovan Edwards was majestic Saturday afternoon, slicing and dicing his way to an awe-inspiring 246 yards and four touchdowns to trigger host West Bloomfield to a 52-14 rampage win over a Cinderella Romeo squad in a Division 1 regional championship game.
The MHSAA football playoffs resumed this weekend after a two-month pause due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Edwards is signed to play at the University of Michigan next fall and will enroll in classes in Ann Arbor this month. After Saturday’s game, Edwards announced his intention to finish out the stranger-than-fiction 2020-2021 season before reporting for duty with the Maize and Blue.
Michigan’s official report date is Jan. 18, however, Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh has given his prized tailback recruit the okay to be a few days late, if in fact, the Lakers make it to the state finals. The Division 1 state championship game will be played Jan. 23 at Ford Field.
On Saturday against always rugged Romeo, Edwards (6- 0, 190) played like a man possessed. His running was a captivating, beautiful mix of speed, power and finesse.
He started the contest with a pair of 10-yard touchdown jaunts on the Lakers’ first two posses
sions. He capped off West Bloomfield’s opening two drives of the second half with scoring runs of 85 yards and 8 yards, respectively. Edwards bulldozed past multiple Romeo defenders on the 8-yarder to place the Lakers on top 38-7 early in the fourth quarter.
“I’m an animal, man,” Edwards declared following the game where he also lined up at quarterback for spot snaps and completed a 46-yard pass. “You have to prepare for greatness. You practice hard. You play hard. My teammates inspire me to make plays. We play hard as a unit and on both sides of the ball. We never let up.”
West Bloomf ield (91) went ahead 24-7 at the half and had Romeo on the ropes throughout. Lakers senior quarterback Alex Short found junior tight end Michael Williams for a 22yard touchdown in the first quarter. Jake Ward booted a 32-yard field goal for the Lakers as well in the first half.
Williams is a blue-chip recruit on defense and made his return to the field Saturday after missing action this past fall with a knee injury. West Bloomfield’s defense got a team-high 12 tackles from star linebacker and Missouri State-signee Jordan Hoskins.
Romeo junior quarterback Logan Rolfs threw for 122 yards and an 18-yard touchdown connection with Braden Goralski. The Bulldogs (5-5) were riding a four-game win streak into Saturday’s game, having entered the expanded playoff format with an under .500 record.
“If history tells you anything, it’s that you can never count Romeo out of the conversation,” Bulldogs head coach Curt Rienas said. “This program has been to the playoffs 18 straight years for a reason. “We showed glimpses of ourselves today, but we couldn’t put it all together and we couldn’t find an answer for Donovan Edwards.”
Rienas praised Edwards’ style rushing the rock.
“Donovan is the real deal for sure in every way,” he said. “He’s extremely talented and runs with purpose and intense determination. I tip my hat to him.”
Edwards and his Lakers now turn their attention to a semifinal battle against Belleville (10-0) on the road. Belleville has bumped West Bloomfield out of the playoffs in the regionals the last two years.
“This is personal,” said Edwards of the final four matchup. “We’re not taking any prisoners.”