Bailey, Bolingbrook Blow Out Joliet Central

The Bolingbrook High School football team scored touchdowns on six of its first seven offensive possessions and never looked back as the Raiders cruised to a dominating 48-6 blowout against Joliet Central Friday.

The Raiders moved to 3-1 on the season behind the efforts of sophomore quarterback Aaron Bailey, who racked up 239 yards of total offense and engineered four scoring plays—three of his own doing and one through the air.

And even though Bailey padded his already impressive 2010 offensive resume by adding 160 rushing yards and 79 passing yards, the young quarterback was quick to shower his supporting cast with praise.

"Our offensive line was phenomenal. The linemen made every block out there," Bailey said. "Even on broken plays, they did what they needed to do out there. That's what I love about them. Without the linemen, we wouldn't have had any touchdowns."

Bailey and the offensive line played a crucial role in each of Bolingbrook's first two scoring drives.

Just one play after senior running back Malik Snapp converted a 3rd and 3 with a run up the middle, Bailey turned a play-action bootleg into a dazzling 64-yard run up the far side of the field to put the Raiders ahead 6-0.

Joliet Central then turned the ball over on the first play of its ensuing possession, fumbling the ball at its own 27-yard line after a pass reception.

Bailey would promptly make the Steelmen pay, connecting on a 25-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Xavier Perkins to extend the Raiders' lead to 12-0 before many fans took their seats.

A Joliet Central 60-yard touchdown pass just moments after Perkins' score briefly cut Bolingbrook's lead in half, but Bolingbrook again flexed its muscle as it needed only three plays to put up a third touchdown, this time with a 32-yard touchdown run by Bailey, whose shifty feet helped him dodge defenders en route to paydirt.

Bailey would add a second rushing score with 9:07 remaining in the second quarter on a 3-yard scamper.

And after a football-savvy defensive score by defensive back Jibril Armstead, who picked up an incomplete backwards pass by Joliet Central and took it for six the opposite way, Bolingbrook took a 48-6 lead into halftime.

"That's good heads up football by our defensive guys. It's a credit to Jibril Armstead," said Bolingbrook Head Coach John Ivlow. "When in doubt, play until you hear a whistle."

Despite a dominant performance from his quarterback, head Ivlow said Bailey still has room to improve his game.

"He's performing like a sophomore," Ivlow said when asked to compare Bailey's play to that of an upperclassman. "You just don't see it probably because he's got the gifts to make up for it.

"He's young and he's getting better every week. We need him rockin' and rollin' and being full speed by the end of the next couple of weeks. That's our goal," Ivlow said.

Bolingbrook takes its back-to-back wins on the road next Saturday when it travels to Joliet West High School for its only scheduled afternoon affair of the season. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m.