Friday night was all business for the Taylorsville Tartars, as they systematically picked apart the Perry Central Bulldogs in a 42-0 victory in front of their home crowd.
After seeing such a dominant display, many would assume this game was personal for the Tartars, being that their last loss — now over a calendar year ago — was to against Perry Central. But Coach Mitch Evans said for his team, it was really just another day at the office.
“It was just another week,” said Evans. “We don’t really play the whole revenge thing, we come out here week by week and try to get a win.”
The Tartars wasted no time securing a win on Friday. Their first offensive play of the game resulted in a 65-yard touchdown pass from Ty Keyes to Raven Arrington, an explosive duo that has been nearly unstoppable through the first half of the season.
The Tartars went on to establish dominance from their running back position, with an elite group of backs that sometimes get overlooked by those on the outside who only hear about the Tartars’ elite passing abilities.
“We all just have to play as a team,” said running back Keyon Bass. “The passing offense takes care of theirs, we take care of ours, and when it all works together like that it results in a win.”
Bass scored two touchdowns on the ground in the first half, and his fellow workhorse running back Jeffrey Pittman carried one in for a 35-yard score and also caught a 45-yard touchdown pass.
Not to be outshined, the Tartars defense put up points of their own in the second quarter, all the while pitching a shutout. Senior linebacker CJ Williams recovered a fumble and carried it into the end zone to give Taylorsville a 40-0 lead heading into halftime.
Evans elected to remove his starters from the game in the second half with the game well in hand. The Tartars defense scored again with a safety late in the third, which would go down as the last score of the evening in Taylorsville’s 42-0 victory.
Boasting a 6-0 record through non-district competition, the Tartars now face a short week of practice to prepare for their first district contest of the season and what many people believe will be their toughest challenge of the regular season versus the Bay Springs Bulldogs.
“This is a big game,” Evans said. “Bay Springs is going to be ready. We beat them last year at their place on a field goal. I expect a similar game next week. It’s going to be tough, so we’ve got to be ready.”
”We’re just focused on getting another ‘W’,” said Jeffrey Pittman. “It’s going to be all business.”
Bay Springs and Taylorsville will square off Thursday night on Tartar Field in a game that could carry a lot of weight in deciding playoff seeding down the road.
