Trojans Blowout Lynx for MSFA Win at Turner
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UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor ripped off 63-unanswered points on Saturday in a 63-10 victory over Lindenwood inside Turner Stadium. The victory was the 48th win on the sidelines for Ron Korfmacher, moving the 10th-year head coach into a tie for the most in program history.
Korfmacher moved into a tie atop TU’s all-time wins list, matching Taylor Hall-of-Famer, Bob Davenport, for the top spot. Davenport led the Trojans from the 1957 through 1968 seasons and closed his TU career with 48 wins, 46 defeats and three ties.
TU’s 63 points were the most for the program since matching that total in a 63-21 win at Siena Heights on October 17, 2015, tying that game for the third-most in program history. TU’s single-game record came in a 73-0 win over Rose-Poly on September 23, 1961 and the only other output higher than Saturday’s came in a 68-0 win over Hanover on October 26, 1963.
The 53-point margin of victory was also Taylor’s most lopsided win since that 68-0 rout of Hanover in 1963 by the Davenport led Trojans.
It took TU a quarter to get things going on Saturday, as the Trojans punted on their two possessions of the first quarter and opened the second quarter facing a 3-0 deficit to the winless Lynx (0-7, 0-3 MSFA).
Taylor dominated all phases of the game over the final three quarters, finding the end zone on nine of its next 10 touches, including a pair of long interception returns for touchdowns.
The Trojans put their first 28 points on the board in the span of 5:37 of game action to take control of the game. Drew LeFever opened the onslaught with a two-yard plunge to cap a nine-play, 80-yard drive that gave TU the lead for good with 14:09 to play in the half. TJ Swore returned an interception 39 yards to the end zone just 49 seconds later to push the lead to 14-3, and Everett Pollard hit Holden Hodge for a 24-yard catch and run for a 21-3 spread at the 10:35 mark.
Another pick-six opened a 28-3 gap, as Tyler Gerig ran back an interception 63 yards for a touchdown with 8:32 showing on the clock and Josh Saltzgaber added a nine-yard touchdown run to cap the 34-point second-half outburst that sent TU to the break with a 34-3 lead.
TU kept scoring at a fast pace out of the intermission, adding touchdowns on its first four possessions of the second half to widen the margin to 63-3, before a late Lindenwood strike settled the final score at 63-10.
Taylor piled up a season-best 456 total yards of offense in the rout, rushing 42 times for 141 yards and four touchdowns, while passing 35 times for 315 yards and three touchdowns through the air.
LeFever led the way with two touchdowns and 61 yards on the ground for the Trojans, with Zac Saltzgaber and Josh Saltzgaber each scoring their first collegiate touchdowns.
Pollard connected on 19-of-27 attempts for 217 yards and two touchdowns, while Matt Box completed three-of-five attempts and tossed his first collegiate touchdown on a 40-yard strike to Kyle Kempton.
Kempton, Grant Hohlbein and Hodge each hauled in touchdown passes for TU, while Daniel Boy led the receivers with five catches for 61 yards.
Cameron Gray joined Gerig and Swore in collecting an interception and matched Jace LaMunyon with a team-leading six tackles. Gray also added a hit for lost yardage and had a pair of quarterback hurries. Tyler Hasbrook notched two hits for lost yardage among his career-high five stops and Josh Lamica registered Taylor’s lone sack of the game.
Taylor (3-4, 1-2 MSFA) will play at No. 17 Concordia (7-1, 3-1 MSFA) on October 28 and at No. 1 Saint Francis (8-0, 4-0 MSFA) on November 4, before hosting Missouri Baptist (2-6, 1-3 MSFA) to close the regular season on November 11.
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