By Brad Crowe
This past Friday night, the Taylorsville Tartars traveled to Bay Springs and captured an admirable victory in a hostile environment against a solid Bulldogs football team.
The offense continued to amaze with their passing attack, which has now produced more yards than any other school in the entire state.
A large part of that production in this particular game was attributed to the outstanding play of senior receiver Perry Keyes. His efforts in the Tartars 42-40 win earned him the honor of being named Sports601’s Smith County Player of the Week.
The “Keyes to Keyes” connection was as strong as ever in this game, with quarterback Ty Keyes completing eight passes to his older cousin, Perry.
The senior wideout finished the game with eight receptions for a whopping 150 yards and one touchdown.
When asked what has triggered such an incredible start to the season for the Tartars, Perry bragged on the effort and preparation of his coaches.
“I believe the fuel behind our hot start this year is the coaches. During the off-season, they pushed us daily — not just to become better football players, but to become better men. I’m grateful to have a coaching staff that pushes everyone and accepts nothing but perfection.”
Keyes attributed the Tartars’ game-winning drive against the Bulldogs to what he refers to as the “three big C’s: coaching, composure, and conditioning.”
“Coach Mike Evans makes us do a two-minute offensive drill at the end of each practice when we’re tired. We normally mess up, but they tell us not to panic. We move on and try harder. With two of our leading receivers hurt near the end of the game, the backups came in and made plays when they were needed, and that all comes back to coaching.”
With solid preparation and incredible performances such as that of Perry Keyes on Friday, the Tartars are gaining more and more momentum and turning a lot of heads as the playoff picture begins to come more into focus.
