By: Lincoln Reed | Sports Editor
Taylor's football team massacred the Siena Heights Saints 63-21 in an unholy matchup on Saturday.
The Trojans' performance featured an impressive balance of running and passing that proved to be an unstoppable force for Siena Heights. The score is the highest in team history since 1963.
Senior Justin Keys set the tone during Taylor's second possession. Keys carried the ball 61 yards to position the Trojans at the Siena 2-yard line. Junior running back Richardson Giordani completed the blow with a rushing touchdown to give Taylor a 7-0 lead.
A tough Trojan defense quickly stopped Siena's offense and allowed Taylor freshman quarterback Everett Pollard to go to work. Pollard completed a 7-yard touchdown pass to senior Michael Miller. A failed point-after attempt left the score at 13-0 in favor of the Trojans.
The Saints responded with a successful trip to the end zone to make the differential 13-7. Taylor saw a quick turnaround when a skilled pass-run combination between Keys and Pollard helped the Trojans march down the field within scoring position. Pollard found senior tight end Hans Lundberg open and completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to increase the Taylor lead to 20-7.
Siena Heights started the second quarter with a quick touchdown to make the score within reach at 20-14. The Trojan offense continued their dominance when Pollard's pass to senior Andrew Sheard positioned the ball 63-yards downfield. A quick 2-yard pass from Pollard to junior Jay Johnson sent the lineman stumbling into the end zone to make the score 27-14 in favor of the Trojans.
"The offensive line played phenomenal," said Pollard. "I would take that offensive line over anybody in the country."
The barrage continued with rushing touchdowns for both Keys and Pollard to set the score to 40-14. A two-point attempt proved successful when junior quarterback Wilson Alexander connected a pass to junior tight end Tyler Bosse.
Siena's offense rallied at the beginning of the third quarter to decrease the deficit to 42-21. They wouldn't see the scoreboard again.
A 49-yard rush by Keys into the end zone and a Pollard pass to Lundberg moved the score to 56-21. Alexander took over for Pollard and further increased the score to 63 after completing a touchdown to senior Zach Hershberger. Junior quarterback Nate Martinez took the lead offensively to finish the game and helped Taylor reach a total of 582-yards.
Senior Adam Sauder led Taylor's defense with nine tackles. Other defensive highlights came from sacks by sophomores Alex Anderson and Darius Stanley. Sophomore Dovi Gamble had six stops while senior Blake Wheeler had eight.
Freshman punter Austin Gunderson earned the MSFA Special Teams Player of the Week. Gunderson completed six of seven extra point attempts.
"He's done a good job this year," said head coach Ron Korfmacher. "He's stepped into a role . . . that we had a couple of injuries and he stepped in. He's earned his spot . . . . He's done a great job with both kicking (and) punting."
The win moves the Trojans' overall record to 4-3 and 2-2 in the MSFA. Taylor will take on Concordia in a Homecoming Weekend matchup. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Turner Stadium.Photograph by Chris Yingling
