For the third week in a row, the Plainfield East football team scored 55 points Friday night.

This time, the Bengals’ victim was Joliet Central in the Southwest Prairie East opener for both teams, as East rolled to a 55-6 victory. East (3-0, 1-0) has now outscored its opponents 165-8 in its first three games.

Junior running back David Croom III did a bulk of the damage for the Bengals, rushing for 113 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries, all in the first half, as Plainfield East built a 48-0 halftime lead en route to starting 3-0 for the first time since 2013.

Croom followed the stellar blocking of offensive linemen Ryan Badon, Xavier Robert Casey, Sebastian Sanchez, and Jaden Pringle, among others, and had plenty of openings to run through. He scored on runs of 34, 4 and 10 yards.

“My offensive line, I love them,” Croom said. “We wouldn’t be where we are right now without them. They gave me a lot of room to run tonight.

“It’s a lot better being 3-0 than it was being 0-3 at this point last year. The biggest difference is all the work we put in during the summer, especially in the weight room. Everyone is stronger. I don’t know if we’ll keep scoring 55 in every game, but if we do, that will definitely win us some games.”

The Bengals also displayed a passing game to complement Croom’s running. Junior quarterback Brady Cloherty went 10 of 13 through the air for 149 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with Markeith Taylor for a 36-yard TD, hit Trevor Manuel from five yards out and Dinari Overton with a 20-yard scoring strike.

The Bengals’ defense was stout all night, only allowing a 34-yard TD run by Joliet Central’s Tristen Sellers (13 carries, 82 yards) in the fourth quarter while the running clock was invoked and the Bengals’ starters were done for the night. Even the special teams got into the act, as Plainfield East forced a fumble on both a kickoff and a punt return, and Camden McCloskey picked up each one and ran it in for a touchdown, one from five yards out and one from 45.

“That double-nickel seems to come up big for us,” first-year Plainfield East coach Dan Stekala said. “The kids did a real good job tonight. We had a lot of kids returning from last year. The biggest thing we had to do was changed the mentality and culture, and these kids have bought in.

“David Croom has been that guy for us this year, and Brady Cloherty threw the ball very well tonight. It all starts with the offensive line, and they were outstanding. Defensively, we had a lot of guys play well. Hugh Callaghan, Hyson Scott, and Camren Smith were all over the field, and Cam McCloskey got a couple of touchdowns on special teams.”

Joliet Central (1-2, 0-1) seemed a bit shell-shocked early. The Steelmen went 3-and-out on the game’s opening possession before Plainfield East drove 65 yards on nine plays, six of them carries by Croom. The Steelmen’s Pedro Cornejo had a sack on the opening drive, but Croom ran for a 17-yard gain and a first down on 3rd and 11. Then, on 4th and 7, he bolted 34 yards around the right end for the game’s first score.

After getting a first down on a fake punt on the ensuing possession, Joliet Central lost a fumble, which was recovered by Scott at the Steelmen 22. Croom scored from four yards out for a 13-0 Bengal lead.

Early in the second quarter, Cloherty and Taylor hooked up for their 36-yard TD. Croom scored from six yards out soon after, and the Bengals took over on downs when Qualon Butler and Colin Dominiak combined for a sack.

Cloherty then threw a five-yard TD to Manuel, who made a pretty sliding catch in the back of the end zone. McCloskey recovered a Steelmen fumble on the kickoff and ran five yards for a score.

“We ran into a buzzsaw tonight,” Joliet Central coach Tom Hart said. “Plainfield East is very talented. You can tell they spent a lot of time in the weight room and Croom is a very good runner.

“We made a lot of mental mistakes that we have to clean up, especially with some conference crossover games coming up. We have to be focused and disciplined. The kids can do it. We have learned that if we hang with teams early, it becomes a game. We can’t let the other team dominate the first half like Plainfield East did tonight.”