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Mississippi 8 spotlight: Gunnar Bloom, Rogers running back

By Star Tribune, 08/26/14, 7:25PM CDT

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Bloom rushed for nearly 1,300 yards in 2013, averaging 12.9 yards per carry, and scored 19 touchdowns.


Gunnar Bloom, Rogers High School (Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune)

It was early August when Gunnar Bloom looked around at a sea of young, eager faces at the Rogers youth football camp and smiled to himself. It wasn’t that long ago that he was one of those wide-eyed youngsters, regarding the high school players who work at the camp with a mixture of awe and fear.

“I feel like I was just at that camp, looking up to those guys,” the senior running back said.

“The high schoolers were idols to us. I remember we were so nervous around them, so it was important to to be nice to them. Make them comfortable, let them know we’re nice guys.”

If Rogers were a person, it would still have trouble getting into PG-13 movies. The 12-year-old school might not have a lengthy pedigree, but the Royals quickly have developed as a power, thanks in large part to Bloom and a plentiful supply of players in the pipeline.

He rushed for nearly 1,300 yards in 2013, averaging 12.9 yards per carry, and scored 19 touchdowns. By the end of the 2014 season, his name is expected to be at the top of most of the school’s rushing and scoring records.

“I think I need about 600, 700 yards, something like that, to be the all-time leading rusher,” he said.

Personal goals are fine, but Bloom’s focus is on helping the Royals become football royalty.

He chuckles when he remembers watching Rogers endure growing pains in its first few seasons of existence. He sat in the stands as older brother Bjorn quarterbacked the team to the 2010 Class 4A championship game, where the Royals lost to Totino-Grace.

“I sat with some family members [at that game], and I remember them saying they better see me in there someday,” Bloom recalled.

“It’s hard to believe it’s already my senior year. This is my last chance. Time goes by so fast. That’s something I tried to teach the younger kids.”

JIM PAULSEN

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