A freshman and a senior walk into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
No, that isn’t the opening line of a joke. It’s the opening line into how Taylorsville captured its first MHSAA Class 2A state title since 2002 last Friday afternoon in Oxford.
Freshman quarterback Ty Keyes threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns, while senior running back Tycarius Roberts rushed for 146 yards and three touchdowns in Taylorsville’s 41-26 win over Winona in the 2A title game.
Keyes will go down as the state’s leading passer for the 2017 season. He finishes his freshman year with 4,562 yards on 231 completions and 45 touchdowns according to Maxpreps.com.
“What a great kid,” said head coach Chuck Robertson of Keyes. “Whatever he gets, its because he works for it. He’s a humble kid and wants to win. He doesn’t care if we hand it off 25 times a night or throw it 25 times a night. He just wants to win.”
Roberts finished the season with four-straight 100-plus yard games. His longest run in Friday afternoon’s 2A title game was for 28 yards. It set up his 9-yard touchdown rush with 4:20 left in the third quarter and extended Taylorsville’s lead to two scores.
“He’s been a great kid all year,” said Robertson. “He’s had to take the back burner because of how well Keyes has played. But we knew when the playoffs began that we need to run the football well. And Roberts has taken over. What an amazing kid he is.”
Roberts’ performance put him over the 1,000-yard mark on the season. He finishes his senior campaign with 1,075 yards on 113 carries.
Both Keyes and Roberts are this weeks’ Sports601 Co-Players of the Week for Nov. 27-Dec.2.
