The Taylor High School varsity football team returns to The Duck Pond at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night as the Ducks host rival Rockdale High School in their home opener.
The Ducks will look to keep the Tigers in check on both offense and defense as both teams are in search of their first win of the season following close losses. Taylor lost a 34-27 heartbreaker on the road at Gatesville High School, while Rockdale was edged 28-21 at home by Teague High School.
Based on last week’s first quarter alone, the Ducks look like they couldn’t be stopped on offense as they scored 20 of their 27 total points within the opening 12 minutes of the game. Unfortunately, penalties on defense and the offense being inconsistent the rest of the contest was what led to Taylor’s downfall. The defense for the Ducks was on the field for a majority of the second half and they got tired, allowing the Hornets to run the ball effectively and eat up a lot of time on the clock.
Taylor will look to do much better in the defensive trenches, stop the Rockdale run and put pressure on the opposing quarterback to make poor decisions. The Ducks were unable to force any turnovers at Gatesville and they should be able to this week against Rockdale. If they are able to do those things, let Ducks senior quarterback stay in a rhythm and allow the offensive line to open up holes for Taylor junior running back Andrias Fisher, they should be in very good shape this Friday evening.
Be sure to check out Taylor Press Sports on Facebook this Friday for pregame coverage, live updates throughout the game, a halftime report and postgame interviews.
