When Zach Taylor walked into the visitor’s locker room at Lexington High School last Friday night, he wasn’t sure what to expect.
His Oak Grove High School football team was trailing 14-6, and to make matters worse, the Panthers were coming off a winless 0-10 2009 campaign and had blown an early 6-0 lead.
“Halftime was awesome,” said the senior quarterback, who ran for a second-half two-point conversion and sparked two touchdown drives to lead Oak Grove to a much-needed 21-14 victory.
“It didn’t completely wipe out that bad taste we had from last year, but it sure helped,” Taylor said. “Everything at halftime was real cool and calm and our coaches were inspirational.
“We went over our mistakes and we just went out and got the job done in the second half. It was a great, great win for our team. We needed it and it was great to get it during the first game of the year.”
Taylor hit Levi Harmon for a 41-yard scoring strike in the first quarter but the extra point failed.
The Minutemen then scored two quick touchdowns and took an eight-point lead into the half.
“We were all confident at halftime,” Oak Grove center Nate O’Neill said. “We knew we could come back, and we went out and did it. I’ve always been proud to be a member of this football program, and I was really proud Friday.”
Trailing 14-6, Oak Grove’s Brycen Mackison and Dylan Stiegemeier each scored, Taylor ran for a two-point conversion and Zach Lehman kicked the final extra point.
While Taylor rallied the troops offensively, the Oak Grove defense did not allow a second-half first down.
“It was a tough game, but we got it done,” Oak Grove coach Pete Carpino said. “You know, we worked on some things at halftime and the guys really came out and responded in the second half.
“Zach was kind of pushed into the quarterback position last year and we’re so happy to have him back with us this year. He’s going to be a big key to our offense.”
In last year’s Orange and Black Game, starting fullback Landon Grego broke his ankle on the first play from scrimmage.
Then starting quarterback Caleb Barnhill suffered a shoulder injury and Taylor was moved from wide receiver to quarterback.
“I enjoy playing quarterback,” Taylor said. “I’d played the position before I was moved to wide receiver, so I felt pretty comfortable there. We’ve got some great guys on the team this year and that win at Lexington was a team win.
