ROBINSON – The Taylor High School varsity football team battled hard but came up short on the road again as the Ducks were edged late 28-24 to the Rockets of Robinson High School.
The Taylor offense was able to drive down the field and got on the board late in the first quarter. Facing fourth-and-goal with 1:29 left, Ducks senior quarterback Joshua Mikulencak called his own number and was able to sneak it in for the score to put Taylor up 7-0.
The Rockets would answer with a touchdown of their own in the second quarter to knot the game up at 7-7. However, the Ducks’ offense rose to the occasion in the first half in a drive engineered by Mikulencak deep into the Rockets’ territory. Mikulencak again put in work with his legs as he scrambled and extended the ball over the goal line for a short touchdown run to put Taylor back on top 14-7 midway through the second quarter.
Robinson again responded to tie it 14-14, but the Ducks would take the lead into halftime thanks to brotherly love. Following a long run by junior running back Andrias Fisher, the Ducks took a 21-14 lead into halftime when Joshua Mikulencak connected on a short touchdown pass over the middle to Jacob Mikulencak.
Just like against Gatesville two weeks ago, the Taylor offense really struggled to get points in the second half. The Ducks were able to get a short field goal from senior kicker Isaac Castro to take a 24-21 lead in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, that lead was short-lived as Robinson took its first lead of the game 28-21 late in the game.
The Ducks had one more opportunity to win the game after driving downfield deep into the Rockets’ territory. Unfortunately, Taylor was unable to pull out the win as time expired.
Taylor (1-2) will return home at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 to host Smithville High School (1-2) in a non-district matchup at The Duck Pond. The Ducks won a thrilling 40-35 contest on the road against the Tigers last season.
