Bloomington assessment

Bloomington didn't lose this game to a bunch of chumps. Rancho Verde is No. 3 in the Eastern Division poll, gave Norco a run for its money last year and has big, athletic receivers and shifty, quick running backs. But Bloomington could have beaten them in my opinion, an opinion that was redeemed by Don Markham after the game. The Bruins ran for nearly 400 yards, but lost two fumbles that led to Rancho Verde touchdowns and had a holding call wipe out a 64-yard touchdown run of their own. Without those mistakes, Bloomington wins this game.

I think the Bruins have more athleticism and outside speed than they've had in the recent past, with senior wingback Diamond Duncan (the guy who's touchdown was called back) being a home run threat. He's smooth, he's fast, has six touchdowns already and was leading the area in receiving before tonight. There seems to be more running threats this year than last as well, with Marquise Boyd, Keith Williams and Kurt Warner, not to mention 6-2, 240-pound junior Jayson Allmond.

The big problem that the Bruins will have is honing the precise timing it takes to run the double-wing offense. With everyone within two yards of the line of scrimmage in what almost looks like a huddle, timing is extremely important. If you are just a tick off when running a play in such close quarters, disaster can happen. Bloomington learned this tonight, but come November, they will be a dangerous group to deal with.