PICKERINGTON, Ohio – Michael Taylor was content to split running back duties at Pickerington North last season with two other college football recruits in graduates Sam Williams-Dixon (Ohio State University) and Dorian Hamilton (Ashland University).
Taylor patiently bided his time, understanding that eventually he was going to receive the opportunity to shine as the Panthers’ No. 1 tailback this fall.
And the 5-foot-10, 198-pound senior continued to capitalize on his moment in the limelight on Friday, when he rushed for a career-high five touchdowns and 204 yards on 27 carries to lead North to a 43-27 home victory over Dublin Coffman.
“My loyalty to this team has always been very strong, and I knew my time was finally going to come this year,” said Taylor, whose squad improved to 3-1 overall. “I took my offseason workouts very personal, because I knew I was going to need to carry the load as running back No. 1, and my coaches voted me as one of our players who made the biggest jump from last year to this year.
“I’m motivated to do my best for our team every week, and this ended up being another big game for me.”
Taylor’s legs still looked fresh after rushing for a single-game, team-record 289 yards and four touchdowns to lead North to a hard-fought 38-27 win at rival Pickerington Central on Sept. 6.
The Ohio University recruit has already scored 14 touchdowns this season, including 13 over North’s past three games.
“I’m coming off of the best game of my life, and I was motivated to prove that game against Central wasn’t a fluke,” Taylor said. “I wanted to come out and do it again tonight.”
Taylor’s versatility was on display in the first half, when he rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries to help North take a 22-7 lead into the intermission.
Running behind North’s talented offensive line – which features left guard and Miami University recruit Ayden Annarino, left tackle Gabriel Ervin, center Myles Wilson, right guard CJ Moore and right tackle Lance Blakely – Taylor was barely touched while jogging in from a yard out to put the Panthers ahead 7-0 with 2 minutes, 48 seconds remaining.
“Of course, our offensive line made it easy at times, giving me good holes to run through,” Taylor said. “Those guys did a great job again tonight.”
On Taylor’s second 1-yard scoring run, he displayed his power, diving over a defender into the end zone to put North up 13-0, before holder Emy Louis Jr. mishandled the snap on the extra-point kick attempt, but quickly scooped up the ball and ran it in for two points.
Taylor’s then showed off his speed and agility on a 41-yard touchdown run, as he burst through an opening at the line of scrimmage, hurdled over a defender without breaking stride and raced to the end zone to make it 22-0 with 7:36 left in the second quarter.
“We have a really good offensive line, but Michael made a lot of extra yards with his abilities,” North coach Nate Hillerich said. “Michael’s had to wait and be very patient for this chance, because we’ve been blessed with a lot of talent here, and we’re lucky that he’s waited it out and having this kind of senior season.”
After the Shamrocks rallied to pull within 29-27 early in the fourth quarter, Taylor displayed his toughness and durability by carrying the ball 13 times for 92 yards and two touchdowns the rest of the way.
On North’s penultimate drive of the game, Taylor had seven carries for 62 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown sprint up the middle of the field to make it 36-27 with 7:16 remaining.
“That was a counter-left and our line blocked it perfectly,” Taylor said. “I just used my God-gifted ability to run it in.”
The workhorse running back also had six carries for 32 yards on the Panthers’ final drive, and delivered the knock-out blow with an 8-yard touchdown run with just 1:48 on the clock.
“We knew this was going to be a gritty game, and that’s what that drive was all about for us,” Hillerich said. “We challenged our linemen and running backs… and this was a big game for our entire offense.
“They knew we were going to run the ball there, and we were able to do it against a good team.”
North quarterback Jarin Mock also proved to be an effective dual threat, completing 16 of 21 passes for 177 yards – including a 70-yard touchdown throw to Kentucky recruit Preston Bowman. The junior quarterback, a Wisconsin recruit, also rushed for 72 yards on 10 carries.
“Our quarterback did a great job,” Hillerich said.
Coffman quarterback Amari Valerio-Hudson almost carried his squad to an improbable comeback victory, by rushing for a game-high 232 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries.
The Army recruit – who had 78 receptions for 836 yards as Coffman’s top wide receiver last season – was just 3-for-19 passing for 18 yards, but was hampered by several drops by his receivers.
“He’s a really good player, but he has to somehow lead his team to have some courage,” said Coffman coach Geron Stokes, whose squad dropped to 1-3 overall.
Valerio-Hudson dazzled fans with his speed, shiftiness and ability to cutback across the field repeatedly without slowing down.
The 6-foot, 170-pound senior raced untouched for a 6-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter, and then used a nifty cutback move en route to a 20-yard scoring run to pull Coffman within 29-14 with 5:03 left in the third quarter.
“We had a below-average first half,” Stokes said. “We just started going the proper way, and we were right there, back in the game.”
After Coffman cornerback Ryan Ku recovered a fumble at the Shamrocks’ 45, Valerio-Hudson broke free for a 47-yard run, followed by an 8-yard scoring run to make it 29-21.
And after Coffman linebacker Shawn May recovered a fumble by Louis Jr. at North’s 18, three plays later, Valerio-Hudson broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and scored on a 15-yard run to pull the Shamrocks within 29-27 with 11:48 left in the game.
Coffman attempted a 2-point conversion to tie the score, but tight end Christian Werling was unable to haul in Valerio-Hudson’s pass in the end zone.
“Their quarterback is one of the best players in the state of Ohio,” Hillerich said. “He’s an incredible athlete and there’s no secret he’s getting the ball.”
On Coffman’s penultimate possession, North defensive end Malachi Ervin sacked Valerio-Hudson on third down to force the Shamrocks to punt.
The Shamrocks’ final drive ended with Bowman intercepting a pass by Valerio-Hudson at the goal line with just 18 seconds left.
Ervin finished with two sacks, a fumble recovery and a tackle for a loss, while defensive end Elijah Durham-Smith had three tackles for a loss, and linebacker Cale Blackman had a sack, a forced fumble and a tackle for a loss.
Coffman ended up turning the ball over on downs a total of four times against North’s stout defensive front, which also was led by linebackers Daunte Curtis and Chuck Hickerson, and linemen Brady Boss, Ben Thompson and Elijah Williams-Dixon.
“We knew they have a really athletic quarterback and that running is his No. 1 thing, and he made some plays for them,” Durham-Smith said. “But our whole defensive line, and our entire defense, played well, and we stopped them late with the game on the line.”
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