MISSOURI CITY — Taylor jumped out to a 28-point first half lead and survived a furious late Elkins rally for a wild 51-41 Class 6A-Division II bi-district playoff win on Saturday, Nov. 16, at Hall Stadium.

The win marked Taylor’s fourth straight bi-district playoff victory. The Mustangs (6-5) play Houston Memorial (7-4) in the area round at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, at Legacy Stadium.

After kicking off, Taylor’s defense notched the Mustangs their first lead on the game’s third play from scrimmage. On the second play, Elkins senior dual-threat quarterback Cam George faked a quick pass to a wideout, but instead kept it for a short gain. On the next play, George actually threw the pass, but Taylor junior defensive back Trevor Woods jumped the route, picked the pass off clean and ran it in untouched for a 38-yard touchdown.

Taylor coach Chad Simmons said it was a play they hadn’t really scouted.

“The kid, Trevor Woods, he just has really good instincts,” Simmons said. “Oddly, that was a play we had never even seen them run out of that formation. It was something different, and he just saw it right at the line.”

The sequence established the tone for the first half, as Taylor used dynamic plays on defense and special teams to gain a hefty lead. Playing from ahead also substantially helped the Mustangs’ running and play-action attack.

The Knights (8-3) answered Taylor’s first touchdown with a two-minute touchdown drive, but Taylor struck back. Senior Lee Davis cleanly received the kickoff at the Mustangs’ 10-yard line and cut through the middle of the defense for a 90-yard scoring return, giving the Mustangs a 14-7 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

In addition to Davis’ return, senior defensive captain and cornerback Braden Hay had a 31-yard punt return and a 60-yard kickoff return. He said they had scouted vulnerabilities in Elkins’ coverage.

“We were trying to get more explosive plays out there on special teams, and it’s really a three-phase game,” he said. “Offense and defense, people always look at, but special teams is the most underlooked thing and we exposed some things we saw. Kicking, we would see that they would spread out and leave the middle wide open. We exploited that.”

Hay’s punt return set up a short field for the Taylor offense on the Elkins 31-yard line. On the drive, junior quarterback J. Jensen III connected with senior Gavin Belue on a 7-yard touchdown, increasing the lead to 21-7.

The ensuing Elkins drive stalled at the Taylor 37 after Hay knocked down a fourth-down pass to the end zone. With 10:03 left in the first half, Taylor took a 28-7 lead on a 2-yard run by junior running back Casey Shorter, who finished with a team-best 123 yards and two touchdowns.

Taylor forced another Elkins turnover on downs—sniffing out a flea flicker for a 12-yard loss, and sophomore defensive back Hollis Robinson knocking down a sideline pass on fourth down—and scored again on the ensuing possession. Elkins turned the ball over on its own 34, and Shorter scored on the third play from scrimmage with a 25-yard carry, increasing Taylor’s lead to 35-7.

Elkins scored before the half was over, but Taylor junior kicker Renan Baeta booted an impressive 45-yard field goal as time expired to give the Mustangs a 38-14 lead.

Taylor ended up needing every point.

Elkins scored on its first three possessions of the second half, getting within a touchdown, 41-34, with 1:15 left in the third quarter. The lone Taylor points came on a 40-yard field goal by Baeta.

Taylor managed to kill more than four minutes off the game clock in the fourth quarter after taking over with 8:24 left, leaning on carries by senior running back C.J. Tolbert. Tolbert had four carries for 20 yards and set up a 26-yard field goal by Baeta to keep it a two-possession game, 44-34, with 4:10 remaining.

“Baeta kicking the three field goals was huge,” Simmons said. Baeta, who has scored 76 points this season, was also a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points.

George, though, wouldn’t let his team go away quietly. The Knights scored in four plays on their next drive, but two sequences finally sealed the victory for Taylor.

Taking over on the Elkins 45, the Mustangs quickly scored another touchdown on a 14-yard touchdown run by Tolbert, awarding a 51-41 lead with 2:03 left.

George, however, once again looked like he was going to will the Knights to victory somehow. He escaped the Mustangs’ pass rush on the first play on the next drive and managed to throw the ball away, and on the second play, he had a 10-yard scramble for a first down.

It was only finally over when George threw an ill-advised deep ball to a receiver in double coverage. One of the defensive backs was Hay—he went up for it and picked it off, his ninth interception for Taylor this season.

The Mustangs were outgained 400-265 in total yards. George had 199 yards and two touchdowns passing, and 179 yards and three touchdowns rushing.

But Elkins worked from behind for most of the game, and the Mustangs never let up, making big play after big play when it was necessary.

“That was such a good relief,” Hay said. “Everybody was just tense throughout that second half, because we were losing momentum here and there a little bit, but that just brought the rest of the team up and gave us a real good win."