Taylor Handles Saints for 28-10 Road Win
JOLIET, Ill. – RV Taylor moved to 2-1 on the season and came away with a win for the fourth time in its last five outings dating back to last season with a 28-10 victory at RV Saint Francis (IL) on Saturday afternoon.
TU erupted for all four of its touchdowns in the second quarter to flip a 3-0 deficit into a commanding 28-3 lead it would preserve over the final 30 minutes of action. The win marked the Trojans’ second-straight victory over the Saints and the fifth time TU had topped USF in the past six meetings.
A pair of extended first quarter drives by Saint Francis (0-3) limited Taylor to just one full possession in the opening 15 minutes of action, but the Purple and Gray broke loose in the second with four-straight second-quarter drives that ended with seven points.
Alex Amburgy was on target all through the opening half, completing 10-of-11 attempts, including each of his first six passes of the game. The sophomore then ignited the four scoring drives with five completions in six tries for 157 yards and two scores.
Amburgy closed the day 16-of-19 from the pocket for 268 passing yards and the two touchdowns. Aidan Zimmer was the primary target with seven catches for 158 yards. The two both set new career-highs with those totals, with Amburgy topping 250 passing yards for the third time in his young career and Zimmer reaching the century mark for the second time.
John Irwin and Tyler Faust each caught their first touchdown passes of the season, with Irwin’s coming via a 72-yard connection with Amburgy for his first collegiate score.
Jedidiah Galvin had another solid showing out of the backfield, leading the Trojans in rushing for the third-straight time to open his sophomore season. Galvin carried the ball a team-leading 16 times for 68 yards and notched his fifth touchdown of the season.
In total, Taylor piled up 460 total yards of offense with 308 coming through the air and averaged 7.2 yards per play. TU complimented the offense with its best defensive showing of the season, holding USF to 237 total yards and just 126 passing yards.
Owen Folta and Grady Stanley were credited with a team-leading eight tackles, with Stanley earning one of TU’s season-high three sacks. Justin Schroeder finished with 1.5 sacks, including a strip-sack that led to a Taylor score and Tray Ross also had a part in one sack and recovered one fumble.
Reid Messer continued his strong play with six tackles and two more pass breakups to increase his season total to five through three contests.
RV Taylor (2-1) will aim for a third-straight win when it plays at Union (0-2) on Saturday, September 19 in a noon start.
