___________. ____ _________________ Ducks seek first win versus Leopards
The Taylor Ducks varsity football team will return home this week to take on the La Grange Leopards on Friday, Sept. 20. The Ducks will be looking for their first win of the season after coming off a close 29-22 loss to Lago Vista last week. The Leopards defeated Smithville 52-7 in a blowout win.
Offensively, Taylor could be coming into this game with its answer at quarterback, as last week the Ducks started sophomore Caleb Pachicano but switched to senior Eli Laurence after a rough start.
Laurence immediately sparked the offense off the bench, and it will be interesting to see what he can do if he gets the start. Laurence finished with 172 yards and two passing touchdowns.
Turnovers continue to be a problem for Taylor, as they committed several last week.
La Grange has the offense to capitalize on extra possessions, so the Ducks need to hold on to the football if they want to come up victorious.
Senior running back Andrias Fisher has been a key piece of the Ducks’ rushing attack, leading Taylor with 226 yards and two touchdowns. The emergence of freshman wide receiver Damico Calico has been a nice surprise for Taylor. Calico has led all receivers with 285 yards and three touchdowns.
La Grange has been more stable at the signal-caller position, as senior quarterback Clayton Cooper leads the Leopards’ offense and was a pivotal piece in La Grange’s blowout win over Smithville, throwing multiple touchdowns. Junior running back Davon Giscome is the top back for the Leopards after rushing for a couple of touchdowns last week.
Defensively, the Ducks are led by junior safety Stephen Rogers, who leads the team with 33 tackles. One of the biggest weaknesses of Taylor’s defense has been its inability to get to the opposing quarterback, accounting for just three sacks so far this year. This will have to improve if the Ducks want to disrupt the Leopards’ offense.
The game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Taylor Stadium.
