Taylor football is coming off a decisive 63-7 victory over the Judson Eagles and improved to 3-1 on the season. Before their matchup with the Eagles, the Trojans went through their bye week and took the extra time to get ready for Judson and the rest of the season.
“A bye week’s biggest purpose for the athlete is to recover mentally and physically so that we can give our all for the remaining weeks of the season,” senior defensive back David Worlds said.
A typical week of practice for the Trojans will consist of three high-intensity practices, Worlds said. The other days are spent studying film and preparing for their upcoming game. When there is no game, a few small changes are made.
Instead of the usual three, Taylor had two practices and a rest day. Worlds said that while there are fewer practices, the energy does not change.
“We do not drop the intensity,” Worlds said.” We are focusing on improving our execution as well as keeping a level of ferocious intensity even during a bye week.”
Teams can use bye weeks as an opportunity to work on areas of their game that need improvement. A weak point for Taylor on both sides of the ball this season has been the passing game. Both consistently gaining yards through the air and defending the pass have been a struggle for the Trojans.
TU’s pass offense ranks 65th in the nation in passing yards and the pass defense allows the fifth most yards in the country. Both were focused on during the bye week.
“Our pass offense and pass defense is something that we are working to improve in our program,” head coach Aaron Mingo said. “As a result, we spent extra time in practice with 7-on-7 and team pass periods.”
The focus on the passing game paid off for the Trojans as senior quarterback Damon Hockett had one of his best games of the season against Judson. He completed 7 of 14 passes for 182 yards, including a touchdown to junior wide receiver Aidan Zimmer. He also got it done with his feet, rushing for 23 yards and two touchdowns.
Freshman quarterback Alex Amburgy also got in on the action and completed six passes for 77 yards with a touchdown to junior wideout Noah Heinen and an interception.
The pass defense was stellar as well, only allowing 191 yards through the air and one touchdown. Taylor’s ability to shut down the run game stayed strong as they kept Judson completely neutralized with -26 rushing yards on the day. Junior defensive lineman Seth Tolliver led the team in tackles for loss with four for negative 22 yards.
Even with the passing game showing promise, Taylor’s offensive focus was on the ground game as they racked up 378 rushing yards along with six rushing touchdowns. Sophomore running back Nathan Parker led the charge with 136 yards on only 12 carries. Freshman running back Brayden Mitchum made an impact as well, rushing for 88 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown.
“Our rushing attack and ability to stop the run have been the strong points so far,” Mingo said.
The Trojans host back-to-back home games against St. Francis on Oct. 4th for homecoming, then against the No. 14 Marian Knights on Oct. 11th at 7 p.m.
