The Taylorsville Tartars extended their winning streak dating back to December to 11 games this evening with a 34-12 victory over the Raleigh Lions.
In a game that pitted two very different styles of play against one another, fans in attendance got to see a little bit of everything — from a physical, smash mouth rushing attack to an air raid led by one of the most talented young quarterbacks in Mississippi.
Ultimately, the Tartars high octane was too much for the Lions to suppress for four quarters.
With their backs against the wall after giving up 13 points on the first two drives, the Lions strung together two scoring drives — one being a two-yard carry by Darius Windham and the other being a 28-yard pass from Margo Perkins to Ed Hicks.
The Tartars carried a 13-12 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
As they’ve become accustomed to doing, Coach Evans and the Tartars came out firing on all cylinders in the second half to pull away with the lead.
Ty Keyes connected with Chandler Cline late in the third quarter for a 20-yard touchdown pass.
After a crucial stop on fourth down to regain possession deep in their own territory, Keyes drove down the field yet again en route to another touchdown pass to Jalon Clark, creating a two-touchdown advantage.
For good measure, just moments later after a Tartars fumble recovery, Keyes threw his third and final touchdown of the evening to Jeffery Pittman, who reached the end zone twice in the contest, to arrive at the final score of 34-12.
“He’s just growing,” Coach Evans said about his signal caller Ty Keyes, who has noticeably been more of a vocal leader for the team early in the season. “Man, he was only 14 last season. But he’s developing, he’s becoming more confident in himself, and that allows him to be more vocal.”
Click on the link below to see highlights from the game and Coach Evans’ postgame interview: https://youtu.be/zLsPic0kJTc
“Our hats are off to [Raleigh],” said Coach Mitch Evans. “They played some really tough football and really wore us down in the first half. We knew we’d have to be more physical in the second half to come away with a win.”
Now 2-0 on the season, the Tartars will continue their non-district slate of competition next Friday when they travel to Mize to face the Bulldogs.
The Lions (1-1) will look to regroup and improve as they travel to Lawrence County in search of their second win.
