Trojans Secure 24-21 Home MSFA Win Over Concordia
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UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor scored the first 14 points of Saturday’s MSFA Mideast League clash with Concordia and never trailed, holding on for a 24-21 win over the Cardinals to improve to 3-1 inside Turner Stadium this fall.
The Trojans leaned on a stout defense throughout and got timely plays on offense to earn the victory. TU recovered two Concordia (2-4, 1-2 MSFA) fumbles and earned a third takeaway on an interception, while registering a trio of sacks and eight hits for lost yardage.
Jacob Hockett was in the middle of it all, logging 20 tackles, one sack, two hits for a loss, one forced fumble and one game-saving pass breakup in the end zone on CU’s final offensive drive of the day.
Aven Jones excelled in his return to the lineup, chipping in eight stops and contributing on a sack and Dawson Scally ended with seven stops and one forced fumble. Luke Corsten also forced a fumble and recovered two loose balls, with Reid Wheeler providing five tackles and an interception.
The Taylor offense took advantage of the takeaways, piling up 428 total yards of offense on the Cardinal defense, averaging 4.2 yards per carry and 5.9 yards per snap. For the game, Taylor picked up 189 yards on the ground, with 239 coming through the air in another balanced offensive attack for TU.
Dakohta Sonnichsen and Hutson Hohlbein led the way, each ending with 97 yards receiving, while Sonnichsen found the end zone on a pair of connections with Elijah McCloskey, who ended 16-of-27 for 239 yards and the two touchdowns.
Dylan Scally led the ground game, going for 87 yards on 16 touches, with a 56-yard sprint setting up a short Jacob Cleaver touchdown for the first score of the afternoon.
Zane Shilts was perfect once again, going three-of-three in point-after attempts and sending it through the uprights from 29 yards out for the eventual game-winning score.
Taylor jumped on the guests early, forcing a three-and-out on the opening drive and then using a 56-yard burst from Scally to tee up a four-yard score from Cleaver for a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the action.
The lead held due to a series of miscues from CU, as a lost fumble, failed fourth down, interception and missed field goal on the next four Cardinal possessions kept the guests off the scoreboard despite four-straight trips inside the Taylor 25-yard line.
TU capitalized and doubled its lead to 14-0 with a 35-yard strike from McCloskey to Sonnichsen with less than five minutes to play in the half, but CU returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and then used a 56-yard score through the air to draw even moments later.
The Trojans wasted no time reclaiming momentum, orchestrating a touchdown march on their first possession out of halftime. The eight-play, 75-yard drive was fueled by back-to-back 23 and 24-yard receptions from Hohlbein, before McCloskey hit Sonnichsen in the end zone from 17 yards out to give Taylor a 21-14 edge.
Another Concordia fumble set the stage for Taylor to widen its lead. On its third snap of the second half, CU had the ball ripped free by Corsten, who fell on the free ball to give possession back to Taylor on Concordia’s 38-yard line.
A 33-yard catch from Hohlbein and eight-yard rush from Sonnichsen got Taylor within field goal range and Shilts converted from 29-yards out to make it a 24-14 affair with 9:49 remaining in the third.
The contest tightened back to 24-21 with a Concordia score in the third and saw the Cardinals collect an interception and march to the TU 13-yard line with just-under seven minutes remaining.
The Taylor defense and Hockett had one last stand in them however, as after facing a first down on the 17, TU got a trio of stops to set up a fourth down on the 13. CU elected to forego a chance to tie the game on a short field goal and Hockett swatted away the pass in the end zone to end the scoring drive.
TU’s offense took the field with 6:32 left on the clock and used 12 plays to drain the remaining time off the clock and complete the 24-21 win.
Taylor (4-3, 2-1 MSFA) will remain at home to host Madonna (0-8, 0-4 MSFA) on October 22 as part of TU’s Homecoming. The game is set to begin at 1:00 pm inside Turner Stadium.
