Roundup: Falcons Pounce Early, Dominate Taylor

By Terry Carter

Tompkins wasted no time in flexing their power over Taylor on Thursday at Legacy Stadium as the Falcons rolled to a 49-14 victory.

Taylor (2-3, 1-2) trailed Tompkins (4-2, 2-2) 35-0 at the intermission after Tompkins started fast and scored on its first play. Then Falcon DB Jhase McMillan intercepted a Mustang pass and returned it inside the Taylor 20-yard line. A rushing TD by senior RB Caleb Komolafe bumped the lead to 14-0 quickly.

Komolafe scored again from seven yards to make it 21-0. Then ATH Wyatt Young raced 25 yards for Tompkins’ fourth TD. Before halftime, Young scored a second time on a 53-yard sprint.

In the second half, Tompkins continued to turn up the pressure on the Mustangs. A Taylor fumble was converted by Komolafe into a 36-yard TD run in the third quarter.

Then Taylor found paydirt on a long TD pass to Alei Sabek to make it 42-7. The Tompkins’ offense stalled for the first time on its next possession, which allowed Taylor’s Joe Jefferson to score on a short run. This brought the Mustangs to within 42-14, but the game was clearly controlled by Tompkins throughout.

Falcon Chris Gilbert ran 73 yards for a fourth-quarter score to boost the Tompkins’ momentum. The Falcons, like Katy on Thursday, made a definite statement that they are seriously in contention for November playoff spots.

In other weekend games through Friday:

  • Cinco Ranch (4-2, 3-1) rebounded from a recent loss to Morton Ranch by dominating Mayde Creek (2-4, 0-4), 65-7, on Friday. Cinco Ranch SFA-committed QB Gavin Rutherford completed 16-of-22 passes for 210 yards, 2 TDs. Cougar RB Sam McKnight scored three times while rushing for 57 yards. Cinco Ranch finished with 456 total yards, 228 on the ground and 228 in the air.
  • Morton Ranch (4-2, 2-2) survived the best outing so far by Seven Lakes (0-5, 0-3) to win, 41-28. Morton Ranch trailed 14-13 at halftime before exploding for 28 second-half points. Maverick miscues early included a missed field goal, a blocked PAT and a lost fumble temporarily stalled the powerful Morton Ranch rushing attack.