HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL / SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION VIII SEMIFINAL : Bloomington Sets Scoring Record, 34-21

When a football team is averaging 66 points a game and outscoring its opponents by an average of 51 points, the second half is usually a formality.

So when Bloomington High, which began Saturday night’s Southern Section Division VIII semifinal against Laguna Hills needing only 27 points to break the national high school scoring record, led only 22-21 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, a sense of shock and panic could be felt throughout the overflow Bloomington crowd at Colton High.

But the Bruins quickly eased the tension in the stands, scoring two touchdowns en route to a 34-21 victory.

Bloomington’s point total was by far its smallest this season, but it was good enough to give the Bruins 832 points for the season, breaking the record of 824 by Big Sandy, Tex., in 1975.

More important to Bloomington Coach Don Markham, his team earned a trip to Friday night’s championship game.

“The record doesn’t mean anything right now,” Markham said after the Bruins improved to 13-0. “If we win next week, then it might mean something.”

Bloomington beat Laguna Hills (10-3) by mounting two impressive second-half drives. Leading, 22-21, the Bruins put together a 10-play, 80-yard march that was capped by a 19-yard run by David Smith, making the score 28-21 with 43 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

On Bloomington’s next possession, Markham was faced with a difficult decision on a fourth-and-inches situation from the Bruins’ 20-yard line.

Instead of punting, Markham decided to go for the first down. He got much more than he had hoped for when Greg Oliver found a hole up the middle and raced 80 yards for the clinching touchdown with 7:14 remaining in the game.

“I knew if we couldn’t make two inches, we didn’t deserve to win the game,” Markham said.

“We knew we had to get the first down,” said Oliver, who rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns. “The defense overpursued on the play and a big hole opened up for me. It was a great feeling.”

Bloomington had little trouble moving the ball, gaining more than 400 yards. But penalties thwarted many of its drives.

“Everything we were doing right was being stopped by penalties,” Markham said. “We would have scored 50 or 60 points if it wasn’t for the referees throwing flags.”