Turnovers of their own doing turned the hearts of every Bloomington High School football player and fan at windy Memorial Stadium Saturday.

"They're all a blur," said BHS coach Rigo Schmelzer.

Eight turnovers were more than enough to sink BHS in the Class 6A championship game. The ninth-ranked Purple Raiders twice took the lead in the third quarter before the turnovers -- and a long kickoff return -- helped No. 1 Mundelein Carmel to a 54-26 victory that was much closer than the final score indicated.

"Last week against Minooka, they had six turnovers against us. Minooka had not had five all year," said Carmel coach Andy Bitto, whose team won its first state title with a 14-0 mark. "It's weird. When you get on a roll with that, it seems to fall in your lap."

BHS (13-1) finished as the 6A runner-up for the second straight year. The Raiders never threatened to score in last year's 31-0 loss to Mount Carmel.

The only thing that stopped the Raiders this time was themselves.

BHS gained 422 yards of total offense, which was 100 more than Carmel. Tailback James Wade (192 yards rushing) and wide receiver Brandon Hughes (91 yards rushing, 53-yard touchdown reception) used their breakaway speed to get in the clear several times. The Raiders never even had to punt.

However, six lost BHS fumbles and two interceptions directly led to 36 points for the Corsairs.

"I think when it was time for us to make a run, we just got a little too anxious," said Wade. "We knew we had to respond, and with that it gave us a little uncertainty to continue what we do best. We tried to do too much at one time. That's where the turnovers came."

The game's pivotal play didn't revolve around a turnover, though.

When fullback Justin Harrison barreled in for a 1-yard touchdown run with 2:40 left in the third quarter, BHS enjoyed a 26-25 lead.

That joy lasted all of 12 seconds.

Carmel's Mike Serio took Chris Jameson's high kickoff at his own 9-yard line. Serio was never touched. He started up the middle and then cut outside in front of BHS' bench for a 6A title-game record 91-yard TD return. Chris Miller's conversion kick put the Corsairs ahead for good at 32-26.

"We had not run a middle kick return for four years. Watching the tape, I thought Bloomington was vulnerable in the middle," said Bitto. "The first three times we were one guy away from getting a big one. I said to them at halftime, 'We're going to get a big kickoff return.' Boom, then Mike made a great run."

BHS still had the strong southwest wind, which gusted to 23 mph, at its back for two more minutes in the third quarter. That's when the turnover avalanche really started.

The Raiders fumbled the ball away on their next four possessions. Carmel took advantage of the short fields to put away the game, with quarterback John Solan hitting Miller for a 5-yard TD pass and fullback Jon Popovitch scoring on runs of 17 and 6 yards.

"We weren't supposed to be here. I think we have the smallest offensive line of all the teams in the last two days. The kids play with great heart," said Schmelzer. "Unfortunately in a game like this, when emotion starts to take hold the wheels come off the wagon.

"Eight turnovers, you're not going to win any game. I would say we lost to a quality team, (but) we sure helped the effort by turning the ball over and making mistakes at key points."

Solan proved more than an adequate replacement for All-State quarterback Mark Venegoni, who was on crutches after suffering a hairline fracture of his left ankle against Minooka. Solan, a junior making his first varsity start, ran for three TDs and threw for two. He completed 4 of 4 attempts for 75 yards and gained 56 more on the ground.

The big Corsair offensive line -- which dwarfed the BHS defensive front by almost 60 pounds per man -- seemed to wear down the Raiders in the second half. Popovitch gained 112 of his 146 yards after the intermission.

"We've faced bigger guys all year. Sometimes you don't execute the way you want to. They had a good scheme going," said BHS junior defensive tackle Erik Miller. "We knew they could run it, and they took it right to us. We tried our hardest. Everybody out there gave it their best shot."

Despite trailing 19-14 at halftime, BHS definitely felt upbeat. The Raiders committed three turnovers, but showed they could move the ball. Hughes took a screen from quarterback Jeremy Peden -- which was ruled a lateral -- and scooted 71 yards for the game's first touchdown.

After Carmel went ahead 19-7, BHS drove 63 yards in seven running plays as Harrison scored on a 1-yard plunge with 6:42 left in the half. The Raiders were driving again at the end of the half before Carmel's Sean Murnane intercepted Peden at the Corsairs' 5.

BHS regained the lead when Peden hit Hughes in stride for a 53-yard TD strike and a 20-19 lead. Solan's 10-yard TD run put Carmel ahead 25-20 before the Raiders came back with a 79-yard drive, highlighted by Wade's 61-yard scamper and culminated by Harrison's second scoring run.

Serio's kickoff return was the beginning of the end for BHS.

"We scored and if we would have stopped them on 'D', life's good," said Schmelzer. "But it doesn't happen that way."

Injuries didn't help BHS' cause, either.

Junior tight end/defensive tackle Tim McAvoy had to be carted off the field and taken to the hospital late in the first quarter with a scary looking neck injury. He was treated and released.

Harrison, a University of Illinois recruit playing on his future field, rolled his right ankle in warm-ups and later did the same to his left ankle in the first quarter. Eventually, Harrison limped off to the sidelines in the fourth quarter with the outcome pretty much decided.

"All year these guys have set goals for themselves, goals maybe I didn't even have for them. I'm impressed by what they've done," said Schmelzer.

Contact Jim Benson at jbenson@pantagraph.com.