The Trojans led the Cougars for much of the first half. Saint Xavier scored first after finishing a 73-yard drive to put them up 7-0. The Trojans quickly responded with a touchdown pass from senior quarterback Nick Freeman to freshman wide receiver Shawn Lashbrook to cap off a 9-play, 89-yard drive. The team regained control of the scoreboard with Freeman's pass to make the score an even 7-7.
Taylor quickly went on the attack after surprising Saint Xavier with an onside kick that was successfully recovered by a swarm of Trojans. Immediately following the onside kick recovery, Freeman sailed a pass to senior Darvon Blackmon who ran it into the end zone for a 50-yard pass, making Blackmon's 10th touchdown reception of the season.
"Darvon has had several weeks with productive games," said Head Coach Ron Korfmacher. "He's had four or five straight games where he's been on the scoreboard, so his productivity has been good."
With a 14-7 lead, the Trojan defense forced the Cougars to punt after holding them to a three-and-out. The strong series of defensive plays helped set the team up for another long drive that was topped off by a 29-yard pass from Freeman to junior Jared Perkins, which pushed Taylor's lead to 21-7.
The Trojans did not hold the lead for long. Saint Xavier responded with an ensuing drive that narrowed the lead to 21-14.
The Cougars remained determined to tie up the game as they found themselves second-and-goal on Taylor's 1-yard line, but senior linebacker Bryan Onuselogu forced a fumble with a big hit that the Trojans recovered.
After a failed fake punt attempt by Taylor, Saint Xavier was in good field position to tack on another 7 points to bring the game to an even 21-21. The Trojans responded with a 12-play, 74-yard drive down to the Cougars' 1-yard line, which set them up for an 18-yard field goal by freshman kicker Alec Eickert. Taylor took to the locker room up 24-21 over the defending national champions.
The second half took a different course for the Trojans. Saint Xavier scored 34 unanswered points between the third and fourth quarter. It wasn't until late in the game when the Trojans put together an 83-yard drive. Freeman connected with junior Chris Stutzman for a 5-yard touchdown pass to set the final score at 55-31 Saint Xavier.
The Trojans fought hard against the Cougars in the first half, but their minor mistakes and penalties held the team back from regaining control in the second half.
"I told our guys we got beat by an outstanding team," Korfmacher said, "but we also went toe-to-toe with an outstanding team until we started making mistakes while (Saint Xavier) continued to execute."
Taylor, now 3-5, 1-3, look to minimize small errors and aim their sights on finishing the season strong.
"We're approaching these next games like have a two week season ahead of us," Korfmacher said. "We've got to learn what we've done in these eight weeks and put it behind us and go play these two games and go get a 'W' in each; one on the road, and one at home."
The Trojans take this weekend off and will pick back up on schedule as they travel to face No. 7 St. Francis Nov. 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.
