Trojans Fall at Butler for First Loss of Season
INDIANAPOLIS – Taylor suffered its first loss of the young 2022 campaign on Saturday night at NCAA Division 1 FCS Butler, as the Bulldogs overcame an early 7-0 Trojan lead to secure a 45-10 outcome.
TU opened well, putting together a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown march on the opening possession of the contest. Stephen Ellis sparked the scoring drive, hauling in a nine-yard catch on the first snap and then taking a carry for 10 yards. Ellis later broke loose for a 29-yard burst to the Butler 19-yard line, before Brendan Lamb eventually finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-one play.
Butler (2-0) countered with a touchdown on its first touch as well, taking the kickoff back 44 yards to ignite the game-tying score.
The Taylor defense preserved the tie with a back-to-back takeaways in the second quarter, with Ja Pryor forcing a fumble inside the red zone and Jacob Hockett recovering the loose ball to stop the BU scoring threat.
Reid Wheeler then stopped Butler’s next drive with an interception, but the hosts scored on their next two drives to build a 21-7 lead and then pushed the margin to 35-7 with touchdowns on their first two possessions of the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Taylor rushed for 118 yards but managed only 186 total yards of offense, while allowing 290 yards on the ground to the Bulldogs.
Ellis ended the evening with 51 yards on six carries, with Lamb going for 50 yards on 15 touches. Hutson Hohlbein caught one pass for 32 yards and Zane Shilts provided TU’s second score of the night with a 47-yard fourth-quarter field goal.
Evan Kitt led the defense with seven solo stops and a team-leading eight tackles, with Reid Wheeler posting seven tackles with his interception and Prior recording five solo hits and the one forced fumble.
Taylor (2-1, 1-0 MSFA) will look to bounce back on its home turf, when it welcomes Trinity International (0-2) to Turner Stadium for a 7:00 pm start on September 17.
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