By Heath Walley
What a difference a year makes!
Last year, things more than kind of looked out of sorts in Taylorsville when the Tartars finished with a 4-7 record under first year head coach Chuck Robertston.
Fast forward to Friday night, October 20, 2017 . . . Robertson’s team picked up its ninth win of the season and claimed the 2017 Region 5-2A crown in a very physical 35-24 victory over Heidelberg.
“From where we were last year to where we are now over the past eighteen months, man, it’s been a battle,” said Robertson following the region title victory over the Oilers. “I’ve got a great group of kids and a great group of coaches that make sure our kids come out well prepared. Like tonight, Heidelberg came up with a great game plan and scored on the first two possessions they had the ball. We made an adjustment, and they only scored two more touchdowns the rest of the game.
“It’s a combination. We did some growing up from then. We took some lumps last season, and there are just no words to tell you how proud I am of this community, this team, this school, and our coaches and administration. It’s been an experience, and to end up where we are now from where we began, there are just no words for it right now.”
The Oilers did, in fact, blow out of the gate on the Tartars Friday night. Following an opening kickoff return that set Heidelberg up at the Taylorsville 37-yard line, the Oilers marched downfield in five plays, and running back Tavareus Jones capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to give Heidelberg a very early 6-0 lead. Taylorsville couldn’t seem to get the offensive cogwheels turning with a Ty Keyes interception and later a forced punt in only three plays, and Heidelberg took advantage of the situation following the punt. The Oilers drove 57 yards in thirteen plays, and quarterback Tyrese Cooley polished off that drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to give the Oilers a 12-0 cushion with 10:55 left in the second quarter.
But, that didn’t seem to phase the Tartars. Taylorsville went back to work, made adjustments, and flew back into the ballgame before the blink of an eye.
Taylorsville running back Beron Keyes set the Tartars up with a run to the Heidelberg 24. Soonafter, CJ Keyes burned to the endzone on a 24-yard run to close the gap 12-7 with 9:53 left in the half.
Heidelberg countered when the Oilers put together a good drive, and Dontavious Porter cut loose on a 13-yard scoring romp to hand his team an 18-7 lead.
But, again, the Tartars didn’t flinch.
On the ensuing offensive possession, Taylorsville moved the ball quickly in a handful of plays and a long run provided by Ty Keyes that eventually punched Tycarius Roberts into the endzone to cut the deficit to 18-13 before the half. Keyes later hit Malik Strickland on a 47-yard touchdown pass that boosted Taylorsville ahead of Heidelberg (21-13) for the first time in the game. The Tartars never gave the lead back.
“I think that we had a great game plan, and we have great coaches, and I just put it in their hands. I knew we were going to make adjustments and make it more difficult on them,” Robertson explained. “I never had doubt in our offense. I knew we would make the adjustments. We always have.”
Taylorsville came out of the half, and quickly got on the scoreboard again. Keyes hit Raven Arrington on a 50-yard TD strike to give the Tartars a 28-18 lead, but Heidelberg remained in the game for a while. Late in the third quarter, the Oilers marched 46 yards in eleven plays, and Porter forced his way into the endzone on a 3-yard run to cut the lead to 28-24.
That was as close as the Oilers could get, and Taylorsville punched another touchdown ticket later in the third quarter when Beron Keyes found daylight to the endzone on a 24-yard touchdown run to put the final score on the board.
Robertson was proud of the way his team responded, after being on the ropes early, to a good Heidelberg football team.
“They (Heidelberg) are a very good football team. Their record is not a true one (5-5). They’ve had some hurt, and they had everybody back tonight. They are very well coached, and they are a very good football team. Coach (Darius) Dear does an outstanding job,” he said. “We just made our adjustments, and the kids did a good job with it.”
Taylorsville (9-1, 3-0) will travel to face region foe Clarkdale (2-8, 0-3) next Friday night in the regular season finale, where the Tartars will be the overwhelming favorite to win.
Robertson explained that his team needs to care of business next week, but at the same, they need to be working on health issues and getting back to football basics in preparation for the upcoming playoffs.
“Right now we are worried about us – getting healthy, going back to the basics, tackling well, and fixing the mistakes that we can. We didn’t tackle well tonight, but I think Heidelberg was the reason we didn’t tackle well. Those guys made sure they hit us in the mouth,” he said. “I’ve always been taught when you have a positive, you’ve got to make sure not to lose momentum on it, but you’ve got to ground the kids a little bit – go back to the basics and take care of us.”
Taylorsville and Clarkdale will kick off at 7 p.m. next Friday.
Heidelberg (5-5, 2-1) will travel to face county rival Bay Springs (6-4, 2-1) in a pivotal region matchup. The winner of that game will secure the No. 2 spot in Region 5-2A.
