Taylor Football Pushes No. 5 Concordia in 28-21 Defeat

by | Oct 17, 2021 | Football Blogs, Headlines | 0 comments

Taylor Pushes No. 5 Concordia in 28-21 Defeat

 

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Taylor turned in one of its best performances of the season on Saturday, setting season-highs with 280 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in a 28-21 loss at No. 5 Concordia.

 

TU ripped off 5.0 yards per carry in the contest, wearing down the CU (5-0, 3-0 MSFA) defense with 56 rushes and holding an edge in time of possession by roughly five minutes of game action. The relentless ground attack helped Taylor post a 280 to 164 yard advantage in rushing yards and a 370 to 360 edge in total yardage.

 

Brendan Lamb led the way with 20 carries for 97 yards and one score, averaging 4.8 yards per attempt. Jacob Cleaver backed Lamb up with season-highs of 15 carries for 68 yards on 4.5 yards per touch and Grant Gerig scored twice and added 60 yards on a total of three carries.

 

Tyler Watson led the Taylor defense with 13 tackles, three passes defended, one interception and one hit for lost yardage. Josh Saltzgaber stayed busy with 10 tackles and one for lost yardage, while Sam Bartu and Aven Jones each posted seven stops.

 

The game was contested throughout, with Taylor going toe-to-toe with the fifth-ranked hosts despite being hindered by three more lost fumbles.

 

The day opened on a sour note, with TU going three-and-out on the first drive and punting to Concordia. The Cardinals struck for a 53-yard touchdown pass on their first play of the game and grabbed an early 7-0 lead.

 

Lamb speared Taylor’s counter attack, running for 15, eight and 38 yards on the next possession to push the Trojans into the red zone. Dakohta Sonnichsen’s eight yard rush took the ball inside the 10 and Gerig finished things off with a five-yard scoring sprint to tie the score.

 

The defenses held steady from there until a Taylor fumble on the CU 29-yard line turned what would have been a first down for the Trojans into a fresh opportunity for the stagnated Cardinal offense.

 

Concordia did not miss the chance, stringing together an 11-play drive that was fueled by two of TU’s three penalties on the day. The 73-yard march ended in the end zone and gave CU a 14-7 lead deep into the first half.

 

The margin moved to 21-7 on the opening drive of the third quarter and TU’s counter attempt ended in a third-straight lost fumble by the Trojan offense.

 

Concordia failed to convert on that miscue however, missing a field goal that would have pushed the lead out to three scores and Gerig put momentum back on Taylor’s sideline with a 50-yard rush to set up an eight-yard touchdown from Lamb.

 

Each team put together touchdown drives on their next possessions, with CU opening a 28-14 lead, only for Taylor to fight back with a nine-play scoring drive to draw to within 28-21 in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. Gerig capped the drive once again with his second touchdown run of five yards on the afternoon.

 

Taylor had one final opportunity to draw even, as it took over on the Concordia 45-yard line with 7:03 to play in the contest. The Trojans worked their way down to the 16-yard line but could not convert on a fourth-and-one.

 

CU took over on downs with 3:58 showing on the clock and powered to a pair of critical first downs that allowed the hosts to run out the clock on the 28-21 victory.

 

Taylor (1-5, 0-3 MSFA) will return to action on October 23 at Madonna (1-6, 0-4 MSFA). That game is slated to begin at 12:30 pm in Livonia, Michigan.

 

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