CHICAGO HEIGHTS | It's called "The Battle of Chicago Heights," but only one of Friday night's participants brought the necessary arsenal.
Marian Catholic's fans greatly outnumbered those in the Bloom Twp. stands, and at times it seemed as if the two teams were equally disparate. The Spartans' roster really isn't much deeper than that of the Blazing Trojans, but Marian definitely possessed a superior amount of difference-makers.
Among them were the trio of John Rhode, Joey Walker and Joe Hess. Rhode fired a pair of touchdown passes to Walker and Hess also scored twice to lead The Times No. 3-ranked Spartans to a 35-6 victory.
Coming on the heels of its season-opening win over Homewood-Flossmoor, this latest triumph allowed Marian (2-0) to push the memory of 2008's 1-8 record a little further away.
"We had a sour taste from that 1-8," Walker said. "This year, everybody's healthy."
Hess felt something else is also at work for the Spartans.
"There's more heart (now)," said Hess, who gained 43 yards on just three carries and tallied on runs of 28 and 9 yards. "Last year fueled the fire and we're having fun playing football."
There wasn't much fun to be had on the Bloom side of the field. The Blazing Trojans (0-2) lost yardage on four of their first seven offensive plays while watching Marian require only two snaps to reach the end zone for the first time.
The Spartans, who scored on all four of their first-half possessions, also got TD receptions of 19 and 28 yards from Walker before the break. Jesse Steward added a 6-yard touchdown dash in the third quarter.
Bloom, which lost starting quarterback Justin Starks to an injury during the third period, collected its first touchdown of the season with 4:29 remaining in the game on Javonte Johnson's 6-yard run. The drive began after the Blazing Trojans blocked a Marian punt and recovered at the hosts' 44-yard line.
"That was a little morale booster to come down and score," Bloom coach Tony Palombi said. "(Marian's) got a very good thing going. They're clicking on all cylinders and I think they're going to have a good season.
"What's hurting us is we've got a lot of first-year players, but we know we can fix those problems."
PREP FOOTBALL
No. 3 Marian Catholic 35, Bloom Twp. 6
Joey Walker and Joe Hess both had two TDs for the Spartans.
