Senior Darvon Blackmon had a productive day, pulling in three receiving touchdowns while the Trojan defense completed a second-half shutout for the second consecutive week to bring the team to a 4-6 record for the season.
"We're excited to win the last game," said head coach Ron Korfmacher. "We knew it'd be a hard fought battle. Their team would run the football and possess the ball a lot in the game. We wanted a little more offensive output, but I was proud of how our defense shut things down for a second half shutout for the second week in a row. It was a team win."
Olivet Nazarene opened the first half with two touchdowns, giving the Tigers a 13-0 advantage.
Taylor's offense responded with a five-play, 32-yard drive that was capped off by a 13-yard pass from senior Nick Freeman to Blackmon. The pass brought the Trojans to within a touchdown going into the second quarter.
Freeman and Blackmon met again late in the first half for a spectacular 48-yard touchdown pass.
Freeman lofted the ball for Blackmon, but a Tiger tipped it back before Blackmon made a spectacular catch, tipping the ball to himself and bursting through traffic into the end zone. The juggling catch gave Taylor its first lead of the day 14-13.
Olivet Nazarene regained its lead early in the third quarter. Taylor, far in their territory, attempted to punt after a three-and-out.
Junior punter Stephan Straits was pressured by a flood of defenders which resulted in a blocked punt. The ball rolled into Taylor's end zone and was recovered by Olivet Nazarene, giving them a safety and a 15-14 lead.
The Trojans responded late in the third quarter when Freeman connected to Blackmon for his third touchdown catch of the day and his 13th touchdown of the season.
The Taylor offense, now up by 5, decided to go for a 2-point conversion. Freeman found sophomore Robbie Robbins in the end zone and put the Trojans ahead again 22-15.
Taylor's defense made big stops and caused key turnovers in the second half. Senior linebacker Bryan Onuselogu recovered a fumble late in the game to stop a Olivet Nazarene drive.
An interception from senior Brett Currens sealed the final Trojan victory of the 2012 season.
"It meant a lot for our seniors to step up in big situations," Korfmacher said. "We challenged them and they responded. Darvon didn't give up on his touchdown play and our defense did the same thing - never giving up on any plays and continuing to work hard all game."
Blackmon finished the game with nine receptions for 133 yards and three touchdowns. The Indiana native finished his career with 17 touchdowns and 112 receptions for 1,429 receiving yards.
With 20 seniors on the team, the big win on Senior Day served more than just another victory for many of the players.
"It means a lot to us seniors," Freeman said. "We wanted to leave the team off with a victory."
With a hard week of practice, the coaches prepared their seniors for the victory.
"The coaches kept telling us that the last game would be the game that we would remember the most so we wanted to go out with a win," Onuselogu said. "It was pretty nice to go out with a win in a close game where the defense had to step up and make stops. It's something that I'll probably remember forever."
The football team will continue training as they head into the off-season.
