Football Recap: Normal West Takes Loss Despite Strong Efforts from Maliq Givens and Jrue Mangruem

After flying high against Danville last Friday, Normal West came back down to earth. The Wildcats fell 31-27 to the Bloomington Purple Raiders on Friday. While the Wildcats didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Purple Raiders 7-0 in the first quarter.

Normal West's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Jrue Mangruem, who threw for 140 yards and three TDs, and Maliq Givens, who picked up 43 receiving yards and one score.

Keyontae Hamilton was his usual excellent self, rushing for 118 yards and three touchdowns, while also throwing for 136 yards and one TD for Bloomington. Those 118 rushing yards gave Hamilton a new career-high. Ky'Veon Chestnut also helped out as he racked up 121 rushing yards.

Normal West's defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 2-2. As for Bloomington, their win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-0.

Looking ahead, Normal West will square off against Peoria at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Bloomington, they will look to defend their home field on Friday against Urbana at 7:00 p.m. The Purple Raiders will be up against the Tigers' rather soft defense (which has allowed 35.5 points per match), so fans could be in store for a big offensive performance.