<< Previous   of   Next >> For The Enterprise/JENNIFER BUCHANAN  (click to enlarge) Meadowdale running back Naji Moore-Taylor leaps over a diving Marcus Heard as he eyes defensive back Jack Bonner during a Wesco 3A game Oct. 3 at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Mavericks beat the Grizzlies 34-21.

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CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE David Pan, Sports editor entsports@heraldnet.com Tony Dondero, Asst. Sports editor entsports@heraldnet.com

Meadowdale's Moore-Taylor runs wild

Junior running back rushes for 266 yard and all five of the Mavericks' touchdowns

By Mike Cane
For The Enterprise

SNOHOMISH

Friday night was about as sweet as could be for Meadowdale running back Naji Moore-Taylor.

Before the game he told his team's offensive linemen his recipe for success.

"I told them, 'I've got the syrup if you've got the pancakes,'" Moore-Taylor said.

He made good on that promise, rushing for 266 yards and five touchdowns in Meadowdale's 34-21 victory over Glacier Peak in a Western Conference 3A high school football game Oct. 3 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

In each teams' first division contest of the season, Moore-Taylor used a scary-good combination of quickness, breakaway speed and battering-ram power to help Meadowdale improve its overall record to 3-1. Playing just his second game of the season, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound back scored four TDs in the second half.

He helped Meadowdale overcome persistent Glacier Peak (0-1, 1-4), which got within 27-21 with eight minutes to go.

Moore-Taylor – who carried the ball 36 times and had scoring runs of 7, 1, 17, 83 and 10 yards – praised his blockers for creating space for him to run. They delivered many "pancake" blocks, flattening defenders and allowing Moore-Taylor to get loose.

"Our line did a good job. They really stepped it up in the second half," Moore-Taylor said.

From the start, Meadowdale established a strong ground attack. Moore-Taylor rushed eight times for 41 yards, including a 7-yard score, on the Mavericks' first possession.

"Obviously, he carried the load," Meadowdale head coach Mark Stewart said.

After getting within 27-21 in the fourth quarter, Glacier Peak used back-to-back tackles for a loss by Tommy Rollins and Tanner May en route to forcing a Meadowdale punt. But the Grizzlies mishandled the ball and Meadowdale's Nasser Kyobe recovered at Glacier Peak's 16-yard line.

"He's one of our senior leaders. He's really one of the leaders in that defense," Moore-Taylor said of Kyobe, a defensive back.

Following Moore-Taylor's 10-yard TD that made it 34-21 with 2:11 to go, Kyobe intercepted Glacier Peak quarterback Zach Richter's tipped pass and returned it 26 yards to the Grizzlies' 4. Meadowdale killed the clock, holding off quite a challenge from Glacier Peak.

Richter, who passed for 188 yards and two TDs, and wide receiver Tanner Southard (seven receptions, 97 yards) were Glacier Peak's offensive leaders. Southard caught a 36-yard pass for a score that tied the game at 14-14 in the third quarter.

"They're a good team. They're really athletic," Moore-Taylor said. "The quarterback (Richter) is phenomenal – great athlete. They're a program to watch out for in the future."

The first half quickly melted away thanks to three drives of 10 plays or more. Meadowdale had two of the lengthy hauls, including a methodical 12-play, 69-yard march on its first possession, which Moore-Taylor dominated and finished off.

Meadowdale led 7-0 until late in the first quarter, when John Darling's 3-yard plunge into the end zone tied the score. Glacier Peak converted two third-and-six plays during the drive. The last one was an 18-yard run by Rollins on an option play. He cruised along the left sideline and got to Meadowdale's 11-yard line, setting up Glacier Peak's only TD of the half.

Meadowdale's ability to compile long offensive drives limited Glacier Peak's scoring opportunities. It was an important part of the Mavericks' game plan, coach Stewart said.

This week Meadowdale, the Wesco 3A coaches' preseason favorite, plays host to Shorecrest. Glacier Peak, which has challenged every opponent since a season-opening blowout loss to Arlington, will clash with Lynnwood at Veterans Memorial.

A week after earning the first victory in program history, Glacier Peak is not satisfied with simply being competitive. The Grizzlies want more and feel it's within their reach.

"They're done with moral victories, I think," Glacier Peak head coach Rory Rosenbach said. "They know that they can play with these guys. We just need to shore up some little things."



Mike Cane writes for The Herald in Evertt.