In a game where emotions went across the map, Taylorsville managed to overcome all of those, and then some, they defeated the Union Yellowjackets 65-37 to advance to their fourth-straight South State Championship game.
“I think we played a good first and third quarter, but I believe we let the officials dictate how we played in the second quarter and it almost cost us,” said Taylorsville head coach Mitch Evans.
Taylorsville set the tone early grabbing 14 points that were set up after two forced turnovers by Karson Evans who recovered a fumble and Kelby Jordan who intercepted an errant pass. Those two turnovers set in motion a 30-yard touchdown pass from Ty Keyes to Tyrese Keyes, then after the second turnover, a 20-yard scamper from Jeffery Pittman to put Taylorsville up 14-0 midway through the first quarter.
Union responded with 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter on fourth and goal, driving the ball in for a touchdown on a quarterback keeper to draw within seven, 14-7.
Two quick passing touchdowns from Ty Keyes in the first three minutes of the second quarter - both to Arterious Miller - put Taylorsville right back in the driver seat up 21, 28-7. The first touchdown was set up by yet another forced turnover from the Taylorsville defense.
Union struck quickly as they scored in one play on a 45-yard passing touchdown after penalties set the Tartars back on their kickoff.
Pittman found the endzone for the second time on the night when he scored on a two-yard rush to give Taylorsville a commanding 35-14 lead with 6:19 to play after the PAT.
Three more scores from Union that included a nine-yard touchdown pass, a quarterback keeper inside the five, and safety after Taylorsville was pinned deep in their territory brought the Yellowjackets within five, as the teams went to the halftime break 35-30.
Coach Evans was not happy with the officiating in the second quarter.
“I’ve been coaching for a long time and I’ve never seen a game where the officials stopped the momentum of a team and turned it around like that. I’ve never seen it happen before. The second half was a lot better, but I want to see what the penalty difference was in the first half because it was pretty bad. I won’t make any excuses, but I feel it was a poorly official game.”
Taylorville left no doubt in the second half as Travis Keyes and the Tartar rushing attack stormed out of the gate. A 29-yard run from the senior running back put Taylorsville up 42-30.
Keyes also let his presence be known on the defensive side of the ball as he recovered a muffed punt which set up Pittman’s third touchdown of the evening to give the Tartars a 50-30 lead after a successful two-point try.
“We know what Travis can do because he was one of our best players last year. This year he has had the injury bug all season. He would get going and have a hamstring injury, then get going again and have an ankle injury. He’s finally at 100% and we got to see it tonight. He’s back to where we had him last season,” said Evans about Keyes.
The play was halted in the closing stages of the third quarter when Tristan Wallace, a sophomore Yellowjacket, was injured and had to be airlifted off the field. Players, coaches, and fans all had a moment of silence for Wallace who was reported to have movement and was conscious but was airlifted for precautionary measures.
The final 16 minutes went by quickly as a running clock was enacted. Pittman scored his fourth and final touchdown of the night while Union scored with less than two minutes remaining to bring the final to 65-37 on the evening.
Taylorsville will host Enterprise-Clarke for the 2A South State Championship next Friday night.
“It is a nightmare matchup for us. They are a lot like Union. They have a huge offensive line and they are going to try and lean on us. They will try and keep the ball from us, so we have to come out and be ready to play. I don’t think we gave them our best game last time out, so hopefully, we can play a solid game against them because they are a good team,” said Evans about Enterprise-Clarke.
