MISSOURI CITY – While the final score of 51-41 might imply an eye-popping aerial attack, Taylor’s Class 6A-Division II bi-district playoff win against Elkins on Saturday, Nov. 16, at Hall Stadium relied upon the team’s bread-and-butter prolific running game.

Taylor coach Chad Simmons said they used the same plan and execution for the playoffs as they did for their district schedule: a ground-based attack from a trio of running backs with different styles, which then opens up the play-action passing game for junior quarterback J. Jensen III.

During the district season, the Mustangs averaged 182.9 rushing yards per game. Against Elkins, Taylor had 156 rushing yards on 45 carries, and three of its four offensive touchdowns came via the run.

“That’s our game, and that’s what we’ve done all year and been successful with,” Simmons said.

Junior Casey Shorter typically serves as the team’s primary running back, using a combination of speed and sharp cuts through the interior of the defense to wear it down. Shorter had 968 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns during the regular season, averaging six yards per carry. Against Elkins, he finished with a team-high 22 carries for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and also had three catches for 60 yards.

Senior Gavin Belue often functions as a change-of-pace and pass-catching back, typically on wheel routes down the seam and sidelines of the defense. He had seven carries for 31 yards, and three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown.

Finally, senior C.J. Tolbert often does his work in the third and fourth quarters, functioning as a battering ram against what is likely to be a tired defense. Tolbert had nine carries for 40 yards, including an impressive 14-yard scoring run through the middle of the Elkins’ defense with 2:03 left in the game, when everyone knew Taylor would be running.

“I saw the hole,” Tolbert said of the play. “I remembered what my coach always said. ‘Just hit the hole and don’t let anybody stop you.’ It was just going through my head, and I didn’t let anybody stop me and I got into the end zone to help seal the game.”

Elkins changed its defensive approach in the second half, sending more pressure at Jensen on dropbacks and more blitzers at the running backs on carries. As a result, the Mustangs had nine plays that went for two or fewer yards, and Jensen had a single completion against four sacks.

Shorter said that it pays off to have a short memory when it comes to being a running back.

“You just worry about the next play,” he said, when asked how he put the negative gains behind him. “You’re always going to make mistakes on some plays, so you have to focus on the next play.”

While the offensive effort by Taylor wasn’t always pretty in the second half, the ‘next play’ mentality showed in the results.

The Mustangs were able to stitch together enough gains—like a 22-yard carry by Shorter to set up a field goal by junior Renan Baeta—to wear down Elkins. Prior to Tolbert’s 14-yard touchdown, Shorter had a 32-yard carry that was deflating for the Knights’ defense.

However, both said that while the win was satisfying, it wasn’t enough.

“We’ve got unfinished business,” Tolbert said, “but obviously it’s a great start to our postseason.”