FOOTBALL: Taylor cruises through Maconaquah

The only thing that could stop the Taylor offense Friday night was the final gun. Certainly the visiting Maconaquah Braves couldn’t.The Titans scored on their first eight possessions, racing to a 53-16 victory over a game but fumble-prone Maconaquah squad. Taylor not only scored at will but did it with frightening efficiency, converting just 39 offensive plays into 462 total yards and eight touchdowns. The result was a startling average of almost 12 yards per snap and a touchdown every five plays.The steady Maconaquah ground game (282 yards on 58 rushes) was able to move the ball and eat large chunks of time off the clock but lost four fumbles.Titan wide receiver/quarterback Austen Conwell, who scored three TDs, summed up the offensive onslaught.“We wanted to get it going this week because the last few weeks we haven’t played real well on offense. We showed a lot [Friday night],” said the junior, who accounted for 187 yards of offense on just five touches.Indeed, Taylor opened by moving 63 yards in just five plays to score on Teddy Nolley’s five-yard run. After a three-and-out by the Braves, the Titans went 61 yards in four plays, cashing in on freshman Gordon Jenkins’ 33-yard scamper around left end.The Braves slowed the Titans temporarily with a 13-play, 65-yard march that quarterback Phillip Newell sneaked in from the two to cut Taylor’s lead to 13-8. But the Titans struck back, covering 57 yards in four plays with Conwell notching his first score on a QB keeper from 27 yards out.Mac tried to answer with strong running by sophomore tailback Josh Morgan, but a fumble let Taylor convert again on Josh Steward’s one-yard blast. That made it 26-8 with 4:16 left in the half.The Braves drove to the Titan 21, but a fumble on fourth down gave Taylor the ball at their 27 with 32 seconds left. QB Jake Leicht immediately hit Conwell on a 73-yard pass for a 32-8 halftime lead.Mac coach Bob Freije said, “Turnovers were a big factor, and you saw that in the outcome. Moving the ball was not a problem at all; it was just getting inside the red zone and scoring.”In the third quarter Taylor converted two more lost Braves fumbles into TDs — one by Conwell on a 47-yard Leicht pass and one by Nolley on a one-yard run. Steward added another in the fourth on an eight-yard plunge.Newbill closed out a 15-play Mac drive with an eight-yard keeper for the final TD.Taylor coach Josh Ousley praised his 19 seniors, the first class he coached for all four years. The Titans finished tied for third in the MIC at 4-3 and were 6-3 overall.“If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we were a couple of wins from being 7-2 or 8-1,” he said, referring to close losses to Western and Hamilton Heights. “But we’ll take where we’re at.”Taylor begins sectional play at Northwestern next Friday in a rematch. The Titans took a 27-24 win in Week 5.Mac hosts Culver Academy as the Braves try to snap a school record 15-game losing streak.