Tigers Top Trojans in Overtime to Spoil Season Opener

UPLAND, Ind. – In a rematch of last season's 58-51 overtime victory for Taylor at Olivet Nazarene, the two teams produced another instant classic with ONU avenging its defeat from last season and spoiling TU's season-opener with a 48-42 overtime win inside Turner Stadium.

Things appeared to be headed for a comfortable win for the Trojans in the early minutes, as Taylor's first two drives ended in the end zone for an early 14-0 advantage, but ONU eventually battled back even at 14-14 with 7:00 to play in the opening half.

The Trojans had a resounding answer however, using just 3:13 of game time to march 88 yards down the field and reclaiming the lead on a 31-yard touchdown connection from Damon Hockett to Nathan Munson.

A quick three-and-out from the Tigers gave the ball right back to the Taylor offense and a 33-yard sprint from Nathan Parker moved the ball to the one-yard line. Kyle Turanchick then punched in his second score of the evening and TU took a 28-14 lead to the break.

Taylor then seemingly took command of the contest in the opening moments of the third quarter, with Devin Stupples returning the kickoff 48 yards to the TU 48-yard line. After a two-yard rush to open the series, Kyle Stratton hit Jack D'Arcy in stride for a 50-yard score and a 35-14 lead with 14:10 to play in the third.

Olivet Nazarene countered TU's 21-0 stretch with touchdowns on its next four possessions to turn the game around and stun the near capacity Turner Stadium crowd. The ONU flurry put Taylor in a 42-35 deficit and the Tigers appeared poised to deliver a knockout blow before Grady Stanley intercepted a fourth-down pass to keep it a one-score deficit with 5:30 remaining.

After a Turanchick conversion on fourth down moved the ball to the ONU 31, Hockett again connected with D'Arcy, this time from 28 yards out to end the drought and even the score at 42-42 with 3:12 to play.

The Tigers again moved the ball methodically down the field, nearing field goal range as time wound down. A bad snap on third down ended the threat however and the two sides moved to the overtime session for a second-straight year.

ONU opened the extra time with a touchdown on its second snap, before missing the extra-point to give Taylor a chance to steal the win with seven points.

After getting nothing going on the first two plays, Taylor turned to the air on third down, but the ball was intercepted on TU's nine-yard line to end TU's bid at a season-opening win.

Taylor moved the ball at will in the first half, piling up 294 total yards of offense, 17 first downs and 198 rushing yards on 35 carries. It was more of the same on the first touch of the second half with the quick score to open the 21-point lead.

TU lost its rhythm from there however, managing just 38 total yards of offense over the game's final 29:10 of action and totaling minus-seven yards on the ground over its final 17 attempts.

While Taylor ended the game with 191 yards through the air and 193 on the ground, Olivet Nazarene unloaded for 394 yards through the air and 493 total yards of offense to fuel the stunning comeback win.

Parker led the TU offense with 95 yards and one score on the ground, while Turanchick posted the two touchdowns. D'Arcy also scored twice and ended with 78 yards receiving, while JJ Payne had three catches for 78 yards.

Stupples was a star in the return game, averaging 34.7 yards over six kickoff returns for 208 yards and David Worlds also logged a 38-yard return.

The Taylor defense was paced by eight tackles, two hits for lost yardage and one sack from Caleb Ranzau, while Reese Pinckney registered seven tackles and Reid Messer ended with six hits and two pass breakups. Thad Thoman had five tackles and two quarterback pressures and Stanley had four stops and TU's lone takeaway of the game.

RV Taylor (0-1) will play another MSFA crossover game when it travels to RV Saint Francis (IL) (0-0) for a 2:00 pm (ET) clash on Saturday, September 6.