The Taylor Ducks football team lost its second game of the season to the Pflugerville Connally Cougars, 49-15, on Friday, Sept. 6, at The Pfield in Pflugerville. Ducks senior running back Andrias Fisher was one of the few bright spots for Taylor, leading the Ducks’ rushing attack with a touchdown in the second quarter.
Mistakes plagued the Ducks, as they committed four turnovers, keeping Taylor behind the eight ball all night ultimately leading to their
demise. The Ducks got off to a good start, scoring a touchdown to make it 7-0, but the lead was short-lived. The Cougars soon took the lead after a couple of touchdowns made it 14-7. Taylor regained the lead one last time off a 2-yard rush from Fisher and a two-point conversion, making it 15-14 going into halftime.
After that, the Cougars scored 35 unanswered points, as the Taylor defense couldn’t stop the run, giving up four rushing touchdowns to Pflugerville Connally sophomore running back Jonah Garcia. Flowers discussed what his team can improve on moving forward.
“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board, do a better job on ball security, and be more physical in all phases of the game,” Flowers said.
Ducks senior quarterback Eli Laurence got the start, connecting for a couple of nice throws early, but was ultimately unable to push the ball down the field. Flowers addressed the quarterback situation and said he will need to see more consistency as he continues to look for answers in that position.
“It’s exactly what it looks like. It is up in the air. We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and making plays when we’re supposed to. It’s not just him, it’s anyone who gets the opportunity, so we have to find somebody who can keep things steady,” Flowers said.
Despite the loss, Flowers had a clear message for his team about improving as Taylor inches closer to district play.
“Get better,” Flowers said. “We can’t sit here and cry about it. It’s the preseason; we still have some time to get better before district play, and that’s not out of our reach. We just have to clean up some things. It’s not all bad.”
Taylor falls to 0-2 on the season, while the Cougars improve to 1-1. The Ducks will look to bounce back and get their first win of the season on the road against the Lago Vista Lions on Friday, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m.
