Pruitt leads Bolingbrook past Joliet West

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:08PM

When Bolingbrook quarterback Aaron Bailey went out, D.J. Pruitt stepped up.

Pruitt, a junior who wasn't even the Raiders backup quarterback earlier in the season, stepped in for an injured Bailey and ran for a touchdown and passed for another as Bolingbrook pulled away in the second half for a 32-20 win over Joliet West Saturday afternoon in Joliet.

The win improved No. 22 Bolingbrook to 4-1 and 3-0 in the SouthWest Suburban Blue. But the Raiders were concerned about their sophomore quarterback, Bailey, who suffered a right ankle injury following a 23-yard scramble at the end of the first quarter.

He was taken for X-rays during the second half of the game and the extent of the injury was not yet known.

"Don't get me wrong, Aaron's shoes aren't going to get filled anytime soon," Pruitt said. "I was just trying to come in and get a win for the team."

Pruitt, who finished with 14 carries for 105 yards, gave the Raiders a 13-7 lead when he burst through for a 45-yard touchdown run with 2:30 left in the first half.

But Joliet West, which was was hosting its first homecoming game since 1992, answered back when senior quarterback Malcolm Allen capped an 89-yard, 11-play drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Danny Dorsey with 11.9 seconds to play in the half to tie the game at 13-13.

The Tigers (0-5, 0-3) looked to take the lead on their opening possession of the second half, but fumbled the ball away at the Bolingbrook 16. Senior defensive back Diandre Rhodes, who would later add a pair of interceptions, recovered for the Raiders.

Bolingbrook then scored on its next three possessions. Senior running back Malik Snapp (11 carries - 109 yards) scored on runs of 23 and 11 yards and Pruitt (3-for-6 for 69 yards) threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Daniel Fisher to give the Raiders a 32-13 lead with 11:47 left in the game.

The win was a little more special for Snapp, who played for the combined Joliet squad last season and transferred to Bolingbrook from the Joliet Central district before this season.

"It felt real good," said Snapp of winning a game on the field where he played for the winless Steelmen a year ago. "My goal was to get a win on this field and I wanted to leave it with a 'W.'

"We had a big loss when Aaron went down, but we pulled through."

Bailey, who finished with five carries for 91 yards and was 2 of 7 passing for 18 yards and also had a pair of interceptions, opened the scoring by racing 63-yards for a touchdown on the fourth play of the game.

Joliet West took advantage of an interception and tied it at 7-7 on a 37-yard touchdown run by sophomore Kameron Hargrove (13 carries - 82 yards) with 3:51 left in the first quarter.

Both teams had four turnovers, but the Tigers had three of theirs in the second half. Allen, who was 16 of 28 with two interceptions for 257 yards, capped the scoring on a 27-yard TD pass to Dorsey with 7:45 to play in the game.

The ball was tipped and nearly intercepted, but Dorsey - who finished with five catches for 124 yards, dove and hauled the ball in just before it hit the ground.

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