Jonathan Taylor scores 3 TDs, leads desperate Salem past Woodbury

  • 10/01 - 2:00 PM FootballFinal
    Woodbury 16
    Salem 28
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Desperate times call for desperate measures.

They also call for Jonathan Taylor.

The Rutgers-bound Salem High School senior burst through a gaping hole and turned on the speed that made him the 100-meter Meet of Champions winner this past June for a go-ahead 65-yard fourth-quarter touchdown and the Rams went on to a 28-16 win over Woodbury on Saturday.

The victory pulled Salem even at 2-2, while Woodbury dropped to 2-2.

“They came out fired up and accepted the challenge,” said Salem coach Montrey Wright. “We’re happy to get this win, get to the bye week, get healthy and make our run.

WEEK 4: Saturday's results, links

“I looked at (Taylor trailing 16-14 in the fourth quarter) and said the time is now. We can’t wait. He understands when it’s go time, and he puts it in gear and he goes. And having a good defensive game helped us as well.”

Taylor ran for 190 yards on 19 carries and scored three touchdowns – each spectacular in their own way. He also intercepted a pass and returned it to the Woodbury 3-yard line.

“It was a must-win, and as a captain and a senior I had to help lead this team to victory,” said Taylor. ‘If I gave it my all, everybody else would follow. Losing two games really hurt, and I knew I had to play with a chip on my shoulder.”

On his first touchdown on the second play of the game, Taylor shook off a tackler who had both hands on his shoulder pads, then weaved his way through the secondary for a 66-yard score. On his final touchdown, a 7-yarder, a defender latched on to his leg at the 4-yard line, so Taylor hopped into the end zone for the clinching touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Taylor also had a 66-yard touchdown called back on a penalty where he was bottled up on the left, cut back right and found the edge.

In the highly competitive Group 1 field, falling to 1-3 could have been disastrous for the Rams, who were 14th in power points after three weeks. Only the top eight make the playoffs.

“We were determined to not let that happen,” said senior lineman Jamere Furbush. “We just had to keep pounding. We had that mindset.”

Woodbury had taken the lead, 16-14, with 11 minutes to play. Freshman quarterback Andre Parker completed a 55-yard pass to Savion Gardner down to the 1, then sneaked for a TD on the next play and added a two-point conversion pass.

It was Woodbury’s first – and last – lead. Taylor’s 65-yard TD run came two plays later.

Afte Taylor gave the Rams an 8-0 lead on his first long run, Woodbury marched down the field on the back of Jaquan Solomon before Parker threw a 4-yard TD pass to Dean Triplett, then added the conversion pass to tie the game.

Salem took a 14-8 lead into the half when Nathan States caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Keanen’ Cheeks Jr. with 30 seconds to go in the second quarter.

The score stayed that way until the wild fourth quarter in part because Woodbury fumbled twice in the third quarter with the ball deep in Salem territory.

After Taylor’s early fourth-quarter TD run put Salem ahead, Zaire Jones intercepted a pass and returned it 58 yards, setting up Taylor’s third and final touchdown.

Solomon finished with 19 carries for 78 yards and Parker was 11-for-32 for 184 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

“I was not overall happy with our whole performance,” said Woodbury coach Al Mailahn. “I don’t know if it because it was SAT day, we got down here late. Certain things weren’t clicking. We had people open all day, didn’t take advantage of it.

“They’re a good football team, they were the best 1-2 football team around. It only takes one play to change a game, and they had the one play to change it.”

Bill Evans can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com or by leaving a note in the comments below. Follow him on Twitter @BEvansSports. Find the NJ.com High School Football page on Facebook by following this link.

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