Ellis, Sonnichsen Lead Taylor in Loss to USF
UPLAND, Ind. – Stephen Ellis and Dakohta Sonnichsen had career-days, giving Saint Francis all it wanted inside Turner Stadium on a cold and dreary Saturday afternoon, but the Cougars overcame a 10-point third quarter deficit to escape with a 42-31 win against Taylor.
The two sides traded first half touchdowns, with USF (3-4, 2-3 MSFA) scoring the first and third touchdowns of the day for leads of 7-0 and 14-7, only for Taylor to counter each time to knot the margin at 7-7 and 14-14.
Taylor took its first lead of the day on the first possession of the third quarter, using a 43-yard pass from Zac Saltzgaber to Preston Scott to setup an eventual 24-yard field goal off the boot of Zane Shilts for a 17-14 edge with 11:30 remaining in the third.
After TU forced a second-straight punt from the Cougars to open the second half, Sonnichsen broke loose and gave the Trojans a 24-14 lead. The freshman playmaker hauled in the punt on his own 22-yard line and raced around the corner and down the TU sideline 78 yards to the end zone.
The 10-point lead and momentum would evaporate as quickly as it arrived, as USF punched back with a 68-yard touchdown burst on its first play of the ensuing drive to cut the margin to 24-21.
The game turned on that play, as Taylor turned in a three-and-out on its next touch, only to see Saint Francis strike once again for a 28-24 lead. A TU fumble three plays later gave USF the ball on Taylor’s 11 and the Cougars quickly capitalized with a third touchdown in less than 10 minutes of game action.
One more big play put the game away, as Saint Francis blocked a TU field goal attempt on the next drive and ran it back to the one, setting up a fourth-unanswered touchdown and pushing the USF lead to 41-24 with just over six minutes left.
Taylor added one final score but it was too little and too late, as the guests escaped with the victory.
TU closed the game with 399 total yards of offense over 80 snaps, with 259 yards coming on the ground for a third-straight game with at least 250 yards rushing.
Ellis made it go for the Trojans, churning out career-highs of 155 yards and 34 carries. The sophomore averaged 4.6 yards per touch and found the end zone twice.
Sonnichsen rushed four times for 16 yards but did the majority of his damage in the return game, picking up 93 yards on two punt returns, with 78 coming via the touchdown return that lifted the Trojans to their 10-point lead.
Grant Gerig was also productive, catching five passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Josh Saltzgaber paced the Purple and Gold defensive unit with seven stops and TU’s lone takeaway, via an interception. Darien Taylor and Sam Bartu each got in on one sack and Hojun Yun added a team-leading eight tackles and one hit for lost yardage.
Taylor (2-6, 1-4 MSFA) will close the home portion of its schedule on Saturday, November 6, when it celebrates Senior Day against Indiana Wesleyan at 1:00 pm.
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