WEST CHESTER TWP. — Lakota West High linebacker Judah Blair admits he likes to hit people, whether it be running backs, quarterbacks or any lineman who happens to get in his way.
A junior with offers from more than a dozen Division I schools, Blair put on a show Friday night, thwarting two Lakota East drives with fourth-down stops as West rolled over its rival 48-18 in front of a packed house at West.
“Honestly, I play with speed, and it’s just something I utilize a lot,” Blair said. “Going into this game, I watched a lot of film, seeing it slow, but during the play I could play really fast and fly to the ball.”
Blair had 13 tackles, twice coming up with big plays to stop East drives in the first half when the visitors were driving in West territory.
“I would set up the outside move and go back in,” Blair said. “Speed is a big issue for a lot of tackles, especially in high school. Once they are out-leveraged, I could cut back in, and it is as easy as that.”
Lakota West coach Tom Bolden didn’t mince words when talking about Blair, adding, “He is just a complete football player.”
Blair said his squad remembered last year’s game with East, which saw the Thunderhawks snare a 42-28 win.
“We talk about this game all year,” Blair said.
While only a junior and plying his trade on the field for West, Blair said he keeps focused on his offers from multiple big-name colleges.
Indiana, Georgia Tech, Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as hometown teams Miami, Cincinnati and Kentucky, all have interest in the 6-foot-1, 200-pound hammer.
“I am going to a lot of places,” Blair said. “I am going to Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska, NC State. There are a lot of places to look at.”
Blair and his defensive teammates overcame a sluggish start, gaining momentum with big stops before dominating the second half.
East was held to 364 yards, including only 79 on the ground.
Reilly Newman had eight tackles, four for loss, and one sack, while Roman Combs picked off his third pass of the year and returned a fumble for a touchdown.
Bolden said his defense continues to shine, especially in big moments.
“They scored, there was no panic,” Bolden said of the early deficit. “I looked at the D coordinator and said, ‘We will be all right, just make the adjustments.’ We have the dudes. No panic. Sometimes other teams make good plays. They have good players too.”
While Bolden was happy with his defense, he was overjoyed to see his offense blow up after scoring only 20 last week against St. Xavier.
West rolled up 458 yards of offense, led by the running of Northwestern commit Kenyon Norman.
Norman had a 72-yard touchdown run to begin the hosts’ scoring and a 75-yard jaunt following halftime, totaling 262 yards.
“My last game against East,” Norman said. “We lost last year, we got to come back with a big one, and we obviously did.”
Norman admitted playing East is a big deal, and losing to East last year to snap a five-game win streak in the series was an even bigger deal.
“We have them all over our walls, everywhere,” Norman said. “It is a big deal.”
West led 7-6 after Norman’s first score, extending it to 14-6 on his 7-yard run following a 36-yard pass to Karmelo Jordan.
After a crunching hit, Combs picked up a loose ball and took it 48 yards to the house to make it 21-6.
West blew it open with a 27-point third quarter, turning the game into a running clock in the final quarter.
Bolden said if his team can score like it did Friday night, with the way it defends, the Firebirds have the makings of a good team.
“If we score like that, we will be tough to beat,” Bolden said. “There are a lot of good teams out there. We are looking at the next one, but there are a lot of good teams out there.”
