Buhach Colony High junior Blake O’Brien was savoring the moment. The Thunder running back held the Bloss Bowl trophy as he took photos with teammates and coaches. He was surrounded by family with a smile that never left his face. It’s a night O’Brien will never forget.

 

The Thunder star rushed for 296 yards and four touchdowns to lead Buhach Colony to a thrilling 42-40 upset of Atwater in Bloss Bowl 20, which was also the Central California Conference opener for both teams on Friday night. Even the Buhach Colony student section was chanting his name in the closing seconds. “This moment will be something I hold forever in my life,” O’Brien said. “This group of guys is something special and I don’t think we’ll ever get anything like this again.”

 

O’Brien’s performance was the most rushing yards by a Thunder player since Jaxson Percoats set a school record with 353 rushing yards in a playoff game against Los Banos in 2023. Buhach Colony needed every yard from O’Brien as both BC and Atwater dominated on the ground offensively. 

 

Atwater High running back Durrell Morrison also stood out, rushing for 249 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. Morrison also added a 12-yard touchdown catch. “I was super impressed with our offense today, they stepped up,” said Buhach Colony co-head coach Kevin Navarra, whose team improved to 3-3 overall. “The challenge was set up early. I knew defensively we would struggle. Those are some of the best athletes in the area. I knew their quarterback (A.J. Banks) would be difficult to contain. I was super impressed with their running back (Morrison). Just a good team effort on their part, they pushed us to our limits. I was happy the way our guys stepped up when needed.”

 

Both defenses struggled to get stops and the game went back and forth most of the night. Morrison’s 1-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter gave the Falcons (3-3 overall) a 28-20 lead with 6:28 left in the third quarter.

 

However, the Thunder answered back with a 10-play drive that covered 56 yards. Nine of the players were on the ground with O’Brien punching in a 3-yard touchdown run. O’Brien added the two-point conversion to pull BC even at 28-28 with 1:25 left in the third quarter.

 

“We felt we could take advantage of their defense a little bit,” O’Brien said. “We felt we were tougher running the ball than them.” Buhach Colony racked up 468 rushing yards on the night. Atwater rushed for 334 yards. Banks added 121 yards passing, including two touchdowns.

 

The Thunder defense came up with a rare stop near midfield and the Buhach Colony offense capitalized with a short 48-yard drive that was capped with Joel Castaneda scoring on a 33-yard run to give BC a 36-28 lead with 11:09 remaining.

 

Atwater answered as Banks fired a pass in the end zone that was tipped and receiver Sylas Austin was able to go to the ground and snag the touchdown catch. The Falcons were unable to convert on the two-point conversion so they still trailed 36-34 with 6:16 remaining.

 

O’Brien then broke free for a 76-yard touchdown run to push the lead back to 42-34 with 5:20 left on the clock. Atwater then drove down and Banks threw a screen pass to Morrison for a 12-yard touchdown to pull the Falcons within 42-40 with 4:28 left. Banks tried to convert on the two-point conversion. One official initially signaled Banks made the end zone, but the ball was changed to a failed conversion after the referees discussed the play.

 

The Falcons defense then came up with a big stop and after a Buhach Colony punt, Atwater had a potential go-ahead drive set up as BC’s 37-yard line with 3:28 left. However, the Falcons turned the ball over on downs at the Thunder 30-yard line with 1:02 remaining.

 

O’Brien sealed the victory when he broke free down the left sideline. The junior could have easily scored his fifth touchdown, but he slid down at the 1-yard line so BC could run out the clock. “I think that last play defines him, his unselfishness,” Navarra said. “It’s always been about the team. He’s been big for us from day one.” O’Brien said he knew he would go down before the end zone, because he didn’t want to let Atwater get the ball back. “I knew the team came first and this dub mattered more than anything,” O’Brien said.

 

Buhach Colony now holds a 13-7 all-time edge in the Bloss Bowl series.

 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.