I went to Taylor, Texas to see the Ducks in action
against their district rival Canyon Lake Hawks. Rusty
Purser has been the head coach of the Ducks since 2012. He leads a team with a 6-3 overall record on
the season, but they are undefeated in district. Charley Drum was an assistant coach at Canyon
Lake when the school first opened in 2007.
He took the head coaching job in 2012 and brings in a team with a 7-2
season record. The Hawks are also
unbeaten in district play.
It was overcast on game night, with the temperature around 62 degrees. Not much wind, no rain in the forecast. A great night for football.
Taylor entered this game on a three game winning streak. Canyon Lake had won their last five in a row. This game will decide the 4A
District 14 champion. Ducks and Hawks. .
. It should be a good one.
Before the game, I stopped off to get some barbecue. . .
The
Barbecue
If I am going to be in Taylor to see football, there
is only one place to eat barbecue: Louie Mueller’s, the Godfather of Texas
barbecue. According to the Google, they
are open until 6 PM every night. I
called ahead Friday afternoon to see if they would still have a full compliment
of brisket and ribs. I was told they
could not guarantee anything for late in the day, but I could place an order
early and it would be ready when I arrived before game time. Sounded good, so I went ahead and ordered a
half pound of moist brisket and a couple of pork ribs.
Before leaving Austin to make the drive to Taylor, I
got a call from Louie Mueller’s. Someone
had forgotten to cut my two pork ribs and now they were out. They apologized for the mistake and said they
would comp anything I might want as a replacement, so I just doubled up on the
brisket.
When I arrived after 5 PM, three ladies were working
the counter. I introduced myself and was
given a sack with my order. I also got
some tea and a bag of Fritos. As I paid,
they again apologized for the mistake and reminded me once more that my extra
brisket was being comped.
The brisket was picture perfect: big thick slices,
great outer bark, super tender, deep smoky flavor. The sauce I was given was thin and watery,
but it was totally unnecessary. I could
not finish all the brisket, so I took the rest home where it tasted great a day
later.
After I ate, I walked back to the counter to talk with
the ladies. We said a few words, but
they acted like they couldn’t care less about me. It was near closing time, they were starting
to clean things up, and they were probably tired. I was taken aback by their attitude. I have met so many wonderful people at
different barbecue joints across Texas who are friendly and outgoing. People who take pride in what they are
cooking and want to share their love and excitement about barbecue with their
patrons. And then there were these
ladies. . .
Without eating any of their ribs, I can only rate
Louie Mueller’s a single Hook ‘Em. Maybe
that’s a reason to go back some time, also to see if the crew that works the
lunch time rush is any friendlier.
The
Game
Early in the game, neither team could sustain a drive,
so they exchanged punts. Late in the
first quarter, Canyon Lake began a drive from their own 13 yard line. Quarterback Benjamin Fulton’s pass to Tristan
Chicon was short of the yardage needed, forcing another punt. A Taylor penalty gave the Hawks a first down
and new life. Chicon picked up a huge
gain on a Frog Draw. Connor Rose fumbled at the end of his run, but recovered
the ball himself. JT Greene scored from
two yards out to give the Hawks an early 7-0 lead with 9:51 in the second
quarter.
Tristan Chicon (#20) takes off on a Frog Draw for the Hawks
Deep into the second quarter, Canyon Lake started from
their own 16 yard line. Greene made a
good catch to make a first down. After a
chop block penalty, the Hawks faced first and 25. Greene ripped off 31 yards on another Frog
Draw to get the first down. But Jacob
Ruff fumbled and Taylor recovered to end the threat. The Hawks led at halftime 7-0.
Canyon Lake started the third quarter on their 13 yard
line. Tristan Chicon had another long
run. A face mask penalty gave the Hawks
first and goal from the five. Micah St.
John scored from two yards out to extend the Hawks lead to 14-0.
Another long run by Chicon sets up a touchdown
Late in the third quarter, Taylor quarterback Ryan
Gardner scrambled, then found Travis Gardner over the middle for a big
gain. On the next play, Ryan Gardner
scrambled again, but this time scored on a 21 yard run. The extra point trimmed the lead to 14-7.
Ryan Gardner scrambles for 21 yards and a touchdown for the Ducks
The teams exchanged punts as the game moved into the
fourth quarter. Taylor took possession
on the 21 yard line. On third and four,
Ryan Gardner scrambled and found Travis Gardner on the sideline. He cut back to the middle of the field and
was tackled on the 27. Delane Hornsby
ran for a 27 yard touchdown for the Ducks.
The extra point tied the game at 14.
Travis Gardner makes the catch and sets up the tying touchdown
Benjamin Fulton connected with JT Greene for another
big pass play for the Hawks. Fulton
carried the ball himself for the go ahead touchdown. The extra point made it 21-14 with less than
six minutes to play.
Taylor needed to respond, but the Canyon Lake defense
forced the Ducks to go three and out. A
good punt return gave the Hawks the ball on the Ducks 47. Canyon Lake turned to their power running
game to move the ball and wind the clock.
Another one yard plunge by Micah St. John put the Hawks ahead 28-14 with
only 1:47 in the game.
Tristan Chicon gashed the Ducks defense for 170 yards on the night
Needing points fast, Fulton flung the ball deep where
it was caught by Hornsby for a huge gain.
But on fourth down, Fulton’s short pass to Hornsby failed to pick up a
first down. Canyon Lake killed the clock
and claimed the district title with the 28-14 win.
Ryan Gardner only completed three of the six passes he
threw for the Hawks. Their dominating
run game gained 394 yards on the night and led to Canyon Lake having over 35
minutes in time of possession. The Hawks
will face Gatesville in the first round of the play-offs.
Despite the loss, Taylor also made the play-offs. The will play China Spring in the first
round. This was the last game to be
played at Taylor Memorial Field. The
stadium is 100 years old and a new stadium is being built for the Ducks. After the game, Taylor seniors walked across
the field one last time, followed by a special “Turn Out the Lights”
ceremony.
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