Trojans Rally Past SHU for Senior Day Victory
UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor honored its 23-man senior class prior to Saturday’s home finale and then overcame a slow start against Siena Heights to secure a 42-28 win and successive winning seasons for the first time since doing so in 2009 and 2010.
In addition to registering back-to-back winning seasons for the 12th time in program history, Taylor’s sixth win of 2025 gave the Trojans 15 wins in the past two years, matching the second-highest total for the program. TU also logged 15 combined wins in 1997 and 1998, as well as in 1988 and 1989, with a program-best 18 wins during the 1998 and 1999 campaigns.
The Purple and Gray had to pivot away from its vaunted ground game to find the win column against a talented SHU (5-4, 3-1 MSFA) defense, as the Saints entered the day ranked No. 18 in the NAIA in rush defense and limited Taylor to just 44 yards on the ground over the first half.
Despite facing deficits of 7-0 and 14-7, Taylor stayed well within reach with key interceptions from David Worlds in the end zone and Reese Pinckney deep in the second quarter. Damon Hockett completed eight-of-12 passes, finding Jack D’Arcy four times for 107 yards, as the Trojans battled to a 14-14 draw at the break.
The Trojan offense found its way in the second half, turning the first possession of the third quarter into an 11-play touchdown march for TU’s first lead of the afternoon. Taylor carried the ball for all but two plays on the drive, with a Hockett to Aiden Zimmer 15-yard connection capping it.
An Alex Amburgy completion to Zimmer set up Taylor’s next score, as the freshman quarterback dialed up a strike for 62 yards and Nathan Parker took care of the rest, powering seven yards for a score and a 28-21 lead with 9:43 remaining in the game.
Taylor’s third takeaway of the day came on the next play from scrimmage, as Maverick Brown hauled in the SHU offering at the Saints’ 33-yard line and ran it back to the 17, before Parker punched in his second score four plays later for the 34-21 advantage.
The quick strikes slanted the game in TU’s favor, but the Trojans put it out of reach minutes later, with a touchdown completion from Amburgy to Nate Munson to double up SHU at 42-21 with under three minutes to play.
Taylor rushed for 131 yards over the second half to finish with a season-low of 175 yards on the ground but countered with 310 yards through the air for its highest single-game total since the 2015 campaign.
Hockett did the bulk of that work with 10 completions for 194 yards and two touchdowns, before Amburgy added three connections for 85 yards and one score in relief.
D’Arcy was busy throughout, ending with 128 yards on six catches, with Zimmer closing at 100 yards on four receptions and one touchdown. Munson and Brady Beall also added receiving scores.
Parker took 20 carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns, moving up to 1,280 rushing yards and 19 rushing scores on the season. Parker closed the day 231 yards from second and 283 from first on TU’s all-time single-season charts, while his 19 scores are just one shy of the program’s top mark set last season by Jameson Chesser.
Worlds, Pinckney and Brown fueled the Trojans on defense with the key interceptions, while Thad Thoman picked up two sacks for a loss of 17 and added three more quarterback pressures. Reid Messer led the team with nine tackles, with Seth Tolliver adding six stops.
RV Taylor (6-4, 3-1 MSFA) will close its regular season on November 15, with a 1:00 pm start at Madonna (1-9, 0-4 MSFA).
