UPLAND, Ind. – The Spartan offense fell short on Saturday as they suffered a 17-7 loss to Taylor University in Upland, Indiana on Saturday.
After choosing to defer, the Trojans defense came ready to play on the first drive, shutting down the Missouri Baptist offense at the Taylor 42-yard line. They followed it up with a 13-play scoring drive to take a 7-0 lead with 3:03 left in the first.
The Spartans were held quiet until early in the second quarter when they were able to put pressure on the defense. An eight-yard pass to
Darian Pollion and a few good carries by Kendall Davis opened the door for a 22-yard field goal try. Unfortunately for MBU, the attempt fell just short and the game remained 7-0.
The stalemate continued until late in the second quarter after a good starting field position set the stage for a Garrett Russell field goal with 31 seconds left in the first half. The Spartans trailed 10-0 at halftime.
The strong defenses continued to prevail throughout the third until a Zac Saltzgaber pass was caught by Trey Burdine for a 20-yard touchdown with 33 seconds left to extend the lead to 17-0.
The Spartans answered quickly with a touchdown of their own after a 10-play scoring drive ended with a
John Lux touchdown pass to senior tight end
Anthony Taele. This was Taele's first career touchdown catch in three seasons with the Spartans (522 career receiving yards).
MBU continued to play hard until the end of the game but was overmatched by a strong Taylor defense. The game ended with a final score of 17-7.
Taele turned in another strong game as he collected 70 receiving yards and his first career touchdown. He continues to pace the team with 275 receiving yards on the season.
On defense,
Joey Morones put up 10 tackles and
Jonathan Clements was right behind him with nine.
Collin Thomas also played a part with his huge third-quarter interception early in the third quarter.
The road trip rolls on to Fremont, Nebraska next week as the Spartans will face (RV) Midland University. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m.
