Trojans Break Rushing Mark in Overtime Loss to No. 7 Marian
UPLAND, Ind. – In a season that had already delivered plenty of big moments for the Taylor football program, Saturday’s clash inside Turner Stadium between unbeaten TU and No. 7 Marian served up plenty more. The Trojans carved the MU defense for a school record 459 rushing yards and led throughout before falling, 35-34, in overtime on a rain-soaked Saturday night.
Taylor never trailed in regulation, as the two squads traded scores with TU taking leads of 7-0, 14-7, 21-14 and 28-21. A Marian (4-0) score with 86 seconds remaining in the fourth sent the game to overtime, where the Knights took their first lead of the evening with a touchdown on their possession.
The Trojans did not blink and opened their overtime possession with a 14-yard strike from Kyle Stratton to Jack D’Arcy to move to the MU 11-yard line. Chesser then took a pitch and found pay-dirt to complete TU’s emphatic answer.
Facing the one-point deficit, Taylor attempted a two-point conversion to complete the thrilling upset, but Stratton’s pass to Nathan Munson in the end zone was broken up at the last moment to let MU escape Upland with the one-point win.
Taylor got whatever it wanted on the ground all night, setting a new program-best with 459 rushing yards to top the prior mark of 440 set in 1963. The 459 rushing yards were also the most ever allowed by a Marian team.
Dakohta Sonnichsen led four Trojans with over 80 yards on the ground, averaging 15.9 yards per touch on nine carries for 143 yards and a trio of scores. Jameson Chesser took the ball 18 times for 100 yards and one touchdown, while Kyle Turanchick had 86 yards on six tries and Stratton had 80 yards on eight tries and one score. All four carriers had runs of at least 30 yards, led by an 85-yard touchdown sprint from Sonnichsen with 4:58 left in the game that set the new rushing record and gave the Trojans their 28-21 advantage.
The Trojan defense also produced its best showing of the season. Despite allowing 572 total yards of offense to the visiting Knights, TU took five takeaways, registered two sacks and tallied five hits for lost yardage and allowed just the four scores in regulation.
Aven Jones led the way yet again, posting a game-high 18 total stops with 12 solo hits. Jones also had two sacks for a loss of 14 yards, added another hit behind the line of scrimmage and recovered a fumble. Reese Pinckney was also busy with a career-high 14 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and one hit for lost yardage.
Other key contributors included Jacob Hockett with nine tackles, Jeremiah Mansfield with eight stops and Bryson Scott and Reid Messer with interceptions.
In addition to his 143 yards on the ground, Sonnichsen electrified the crowd with a 38-yard kickoff return, with Carter Loveless continuing his strong special teams play with a 44.0-yard average over five punts that included two inside the MU 20-yard line, one touchback and one 53-yard boot.
Taylor (4-1, 1-0 MSFA) will look to get back into the win column on Saturday, October 5 when it hosts Saint Francis (3-1) at 1:00 pm on Homecoming.
