Cougars Upend Taylor in Wild Homecoming Clash

UPLAND, Ind. – RV Taylor could not sustain a hot start against RV Saint Francis in front of a standing-room only Homecoming crowd, as a string of costly turnovers turned the game in favor of the Cougars.

TU dominated both sides of the ball in the early going, getting four defensive stops in a row to open the game and finding the end zone twice for a 14-0 lead. The Trojans looked poised to take a three-score lead midway through the second quarter, before the first of three costly turnovers brought the dangerous Saint Francis (4-1) offense to life.

After stalling the Taylor momentum with an intercepted pass, USF connected for a 60-yard touchdown pass three plays later to cut the gap in half.

The game took a wild turn on the ensuing TU drive, as the Trojans were forced to punt but recovered the fumbled return to take possession at the Saint Francis 32-yard line.

The Cougars again scored a key takeaway two plays later to silence the crowd, this time picking off a pass at their own 28-yard line and returning it 30 yards to the Taylor 40-yard line. After converting on a fourth-and-one by inches, Saint Francis delivered another big blow with a 30-yard touchdown strike to draw even at 14-14.

After holding down USF through much of the first 30 minutes, Taylor could not slow the guests in the second half. Saint Francis found the end zone on both of its third quarter possessions and returned a Taylor fumble 43 yards for a third score of the period and a 35-21 lead.

Taylor battled back to within 35-28 and 42-35 but could not get a needed stop, as Saint Francis continued to have all the answers in the eventual 49-35 result.

TU ran 27 more plays than USF to dominate the time of possession and produced more yards of offense than their guests but all three of its turnovers led directly to touchdowns for the Cougars in what proved to be the difference in the contest.

Taylor finished with 448 total yards of offense with 226 on the ground and 222 through the air. The Trojans also did not allow a sack and committed just five penalties.

Alex Amburgy came off the bench to complete 20 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns, while Nathan Parker rushed 24 times for 132 yards and two more touchdowns.

Luke Etchison hauled in a game-high five passes for 82 yards and one score, and Aidan Zimmer made a highlight reel catch in the corner of the end zone and finished with four receptions for 32 yards and the score.

Devin Stupples also contributed with a rushing touchdown and 92 yards on three kickoff returns.

Reid Messer paced the Trojan defense with a team-leading nine tackles, with Maverick Brown adding seven and Reese Pinckney going for six hits and two tackles for negative yardage. Thad Thoman and Grady Stanley each registered a sack, with Thoman adding a trio of pressures.

RV Taylor (3-2) will be right back in action on Saturday, October 11, with a 7:00 pm start against No. 14 Marian (4-1) inside Turner Stadium.