A 'Titanic' Win -- In More Ways That One!
Just in time, Lake Taylor remembered what it was fighting for.
After sloughing through three quarters against a team they statistically should have dominated on Friday night, the Titans finally grabbed hold of a chance that had been slipping away from them for nearly three decades.
The chance to prove that their 10-0 regular season and top seed in the Eastern Region playoffs wasn't a fluke. The opportunity to erase the memories of last year's upset to Indian River in the first round of last year's postseason. Most importantly, a shot at ending one of the area's longest playoff dearths.
After keeping things too close with visiting Warwick for the first three-fourths of the first round of Division Five playoff action, the Titans finally exploded with fourth-quarter touchdowns from Derrion Walton and Boogie McCray for a 24-17 defeat of the Raiders; Taylor's first playoff victory since 1982.
"We had a 26-year-old monkey on our back, and we got it off!" said Taylor coach Hank Morgan, himself denied a playoff win in each of his first six seasons of leading the Titans. "Our guys played hard. They played together. They never gave up."
Taylor started off quickly enough; on his second carry of the game, McCray rushed 25 yards to the Warwick 24, and Jarred Battle hit Trevor Adams at the 10 on the next play. But Battle fumbled the next snap, and Kevin Harrington fell on it for Warwick.
Undaunted, the Taylor defense forced a three-and-out, and Battle faked a handoff and snuck 51 yards around the right end to reach the Raider four. Two plays later, he lurched a yard across the goal line, and the Titans had a 7-0 lead.
The defense held again, and Battle went back to work, throwing a 25-yard strike to Adams at the Raider 47. Walton rumbled down to the 23, and Battle tossed to Travis Williams at the eight. But the drive stalled, and Taylor had to settle for a field goal and 10-0 advantage.
Slowly, Warwick shifted the momentum to its own end. An 11-yard pass from Lamonte Williams to Thadtiguss Lewis gave the Raiders their first first down of the night, and Devonte Hill pinned the Titans back at the their own 24. Then Taylor became its own worst enemy, as consecutive long passes were wiped out by penalties on the next drive, forcing the team's first punt.
In possession in Taylor territory for the first time, Williams threw a 25-yarder to Lewis to reach the Titan 10, and Hunt kicked a field goal to get Warwick on the board at halftime.
A fourth-down plunge by McCrary fell short on the second half's opening drive, and Warwick got the ball at its own 28. The Raiders moved 23 yards over the next seven plays, and Williams hit Lewis at the Taylor 29.
Taylor was called for roughing the passer, giving Warwick a first down at the 15. The Raiders lost seven yards, but Williams found Todrell Jackson in the back right corner of the endzone to tie the score with 3:20 to play in the third quarter.
"I told them that it was 10-10, and nobody had nothing," Sawyer said. "Then our defense grabbed a turnover, and our offense put it in."
Tony Wiggins scooped up a Warwick fumble at the Raider 44, and Walton and McCrary rushed 21 yards over the next three plays. Then Walton took a handoff at the 23 and smoked the Raider defense for a go-ahead scored.
"I just saw daylight," Walton said. "My brother Derrius was there, and he was telling me to go." His brother, a former Taylor gridiron star, was murdered in March near his Arizona college.
With the momentum back, the Titan defense knocked Warwick back 10 yards on the next drive and got the ball back at the Raider 42. Five plays later, McCrary charged 14 yards for a touchdown.
Warwick came right, as Williams completed five of six passes on the ensuing drive, ending in a 15-yard scorer to Lewis with a minute to play. But Mario Rowson ended the Raiders' threat (and their season) by falling on an onside kick.
"I knew it was coming to me by the way they set up," Rowson said. "I put myself in a position to make the play."
As his teammates shouted, "The drought is over!" afterward, Walton was already looking toward next week. Though the Titans already got a measure of revenge against Indian River with a 26-13 win in the season opener, they'll get a chance to do it again if the Braves beat Hampton this afternoon.
"We've got to bring out 'A' game and stay focused," said Walton, who scored a touchdown in the earlier River defeat. "We've got to get the job done!"
On other action, Grassfield and Cox were denied their first-ever playoff victories, as the Grizzlies fell 49-17 at Green Run and Kellam beat the visiting Falcons 27-18. Things won't get easier for Green Run next week, as the Stallions have to battle Phoebus, which went 10-0 in the regular season and stomped Churchland 63-6 on Friday.
Kellam goes to visit top Division Six seed Ocean Lakes, which shut down Salem 17-0. Oscar Smith held on to defeat Woodside 34-17, and will host Bethel, which upset host Western Branch 21-7.
