Blair football falls to Wheaton in opening night blowout

Jayden Parker catch

Photo: Blair senior receiver Jayden Parker reaches for a catch.

Blair senior receiver Jayden Parker reaches for a catch. Photo courtesy of Zach Carter.

On Friday Sept. 5, the Blair Blazers (0-1) lost to the Wheaton Knights (1-0) in a stunning 0-32 shutdown. Marking their first loss to Wheaton since 2012, Blair struggled on both sides of the ball, failing to convert on numerous 3rd downs.

The Blazers began confidently and deferred the winning coin toss to the Knights with an onside kick. This swiftly backfired as sophomore quarterback James Destine rallied the Knights down the field and scored a rushing touchdown, bringing Wheaton to 6-0. As Wheaton recovered a bobbled onside kick, Blair’s nightmare quickly spiraled onto special teams.

On the second drive, the Knights ran for two first down conversions, but the Blazers held their ground and forced a fourth down. Taking the field for the first time as a starter, senior quarterback Jacob Zirin struggled to find open targets. With three minutes left in the first quarter, the Blazers’ weak run game could not subdue Wheaton’s defense, forcing a punt on 4th and 19.

During the second quarter, Wheaton quickly asserted their dominance with a rushing touchdown from junior fullback Kola Marville. Missing a two-point conversion attempt, Wheaton led 12-0. 

A second shot for the Blazers, Zirin fumbled the ball, giving the Knights another scoring opportunity with seven minutes left in the half. Though deep in their own territory, Wheaton stole the show with a near 90-yard rush by senior running back Andrew Batje. In a prime position to score, Wheaton capitalized, leading 19-0.

Less than 4 minutes later, Zirin threw a pick-six to junior middle linebacker Axel Rios, as Wheaton catapulted to a 26-0 lead. To add to the disaster, the Blazers dropped crucial passes that led to another punt. Finally, to end the half, Destine broke free for a 58-yard rush, scoring two plays later and giving Wheaton a 32-0 lead.

In the second half, both teams slowed down with minimal offensive or defensive plays. However, Blair senior receiver Jayden Parker showed signs of promise with multiple 1st down receptions.

After an unexpected start to the season, the question remains: why did the Blazers underperform? Parker believes the loss to be a result of some players adjusting to increased play time. “We were just inexperienced. We have a lot of upcoming players who didn’t play a lot last year.” 

Catch Blair’s next home game on Friday, Sep. 26 against Einstein. Tickets can be found here.