The Taylorsville Tartars are drawing near the regular season finish line with an undefeated, 11-0 record and a No. 1 playoff seed so close they can almost reach out and grab it.
Having won their previous four games by a combined score total of 153-29, it would almost seem reasonable if the Tartars just turned on cruise control and set their sights on the postseason where they will have a chance to defend their 2A state title. But Coach Evans says regardless of their success, the team continues to focus on each game individually, one week at a time. That showed on Friday night in their road victory over Heidelberg when they shut out the Oilers by a final score of 34-0.
The Tartars offense received the opening kickoff and grinded out a four-minute drive ending with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Ty Keyes to Raven Arrington — the 11th time the two have connected for a scoring play this season. The MGCCC commit is also closing in on 1,000 receiving yards during his senior campaign, leading the way for one of the most successful receiving corps in the state.
Keyes hit Arrington again on the Tartars’ second offensive drive, and the speedy Senior was marked out of bounds just inches short of the goal line. Senior running back Keyon Bass took over from there, capping off the possession with a 1-yard push into the end zone to extend the lead.
With under two minutes to play in the second quarter, Keyes located fellow sophomore Arterrious “Art” Miller wide open in the corner of the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown pass to give Taylorsville a 20-0 lead entering halftime.
The pace of the game slowed down a great deal in the second half with the Oilers focusing on keeping Keyes and the Tartars offense off the field as long as possible. But Taylorsville’s defense was well prepared for the challenge, bending but never breaking en route to perhaps their best overall performance of the season as a unit.
“I think defensively,” said Evans, “we’re playing as well here as I’ve seen in maybe five or six years. I’m really pleased at how we’re getting better every week at the small things like tackling, communicating with each other, and all the simple things that help you win ballgames.”
The Oilers longest, most productive drive of the night came midway through the third quarter, but a huge sack by senior lineman Hunter Lee — his third of the season — helped the defense recapture momentum and force a turnover on downs to keep Heidelberg off the scoreboard.
Near the end of the third quarter, Keyes executed a textbook play-action pass to sophomore running back Jeffrey Pittman, who strolled into the end zone untouched for the score. Keyes capped off another impressive showing late in the fourth quarter with a five-yard slant pass to sophomore Jalon Clark for his fourth and final touchdown pass of the game.
The Class of 2021 phenom has now amassed 76 career passing touchdowns, officially surpassing his head coach, Mitch Evans, in the Taylorsville record book. Evans threw 75 touchdowns during his stent as starting quarterback for the Tartars from 1993 to 1995, leading the team to consecutive state titles in ‘94 and ‘95.
Now 10-0 on the season, one final game—their homecoming match against the Clarkdale Bulldogs—stands between Taylorsville and a spotless regular season record. Though postseason success is the ultimate goal, Coach Evans and the Tartars will once again focus on going 1-0 next week and do a little more fine-tuning before playoffs arrive.
