Under the guidance of first-year coach Tyler Williams, Taft has managed to rebound rather nicely this year.
After enduring an 0-2 start to the season, the Senators had won five straight contests, setting the stage for a pivotal Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference showdown with Hughes – which hadn’t defeated Taft since 2006 but entered the night undefeated.
Unfortunately for the Big Red faithful in attendance, they’ll have to wait another year for a chance to snap the drought. Taft controlled the line of scrimmage and bullied their way to a 26-0 shutout victory over Hughes at William Stargel Stadium on Friday night, handing Hughes its first loss of the season.
A number of early miscues, including key drops, errant snaps and penalties plagued the Big Red offense in the first half. They were completely unable to sustain any momentum offensively – and Taft’s pressure defensively played a major factor.
On the other side of the ball, Taft continually ran the ball downhill at the Big Red defense and enjoyed success in the process, despite a pair of injuries to key tailbacks junior Jahmar Richardson and senior Tra’vor Davis throughout the contest. Despite leaving the field with an injury on a pair of occasions, Davis ended the night with 113 rushing yards.
Following a pair of scores – one a seven-yard rushing score by junior Antaeyo Stuckey, the other a 24-yard connection from junior quarterback Anton Canady to junior wideout Jakeim Sullivan – Taft entered intermission ahead 14-0.
Out of the break, Taft continued to exact its toll at the line and wore down the Big Red defense.
The Big Red had their best opportunity of the night after a lost fumble by Canady was recovered by Hughes’ Barry Smith, giving Hughes its first opportunity in opposing territory of the night. Feeling in need of a big splash, they gambled on a deep shot, one which Sullivan intercepted to end the scare.
Junior Gavin Crawford drew rave reviews in his audition at running back amid the injuries, tallying two touchdowns and 75 rushing yards in the fourth quarter – one of which was a 44-yard burst down the Taft sideline. For Williams, Crawford served as the epitome of his postgame speech, “Next man up.”
“He’s a great player,” Williams spoke of Crawford. “He’s one of our starting safeties. He actually started the season off at running back. He got a little banged up so we moved him to safety. Tonight, one of our backs got banged up early, so he had an opportunity to come back and get his spot. He showed us he can play running back very well.”
Defensively, you couldn’t have asked for a better performance from the Senators. They stifled the Big Red to the tune of just two first downs all night and intercepted three passes in the secondary.
“I’m so happy with my team sticking together, playing through adversity,” Williams said. “Our defense did a great job, our offense finished out the game. I’m proud of my guys.”
Senior Keyandre Larry shined in the Senator secondary, hauling in two interceptions, both on desperation heaves from Hughes junior quarterback Marvin Good.
Hughes (6-1) will look to rebound from its first taste of adversity next Friday night against Withrow at William Stargel Stadium, slated for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff.
Taft (6-2) hopes to continue its momentum and extend its six-game win streak at the postseason nears. They’ll conclude their regular season at Woodward, where they could officially put the finishing touches on an unbeaten conference slate and a conference championship. The kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
“I’m excited. We’re taking it one game at a time. We’ll continue to get better, we’ll stay on our kids and what I pride our team on is doing good on and off the field. You’ll get your results on the field if you continue to do that.”
Taft – 7 7 0 12 – 26
Hughes – 0 0 0 0 – 0
1Q: T -- Stuckey 7-yard rush (Brown kick) 7-0 Taft leads.
2Q: T -- Canady 24-yard pass to Sullivan (Brown kick) 14-0 Taft leads.
4Q: T -- Crawford 44-yard rush (kick blocked) 20-0 Taft leads.
T – Crawford 4-yard rush (conversion failed) 26-0 Taft leads.
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