Warriors never get going as Wildcats romp
Terrance Taylor walked into Phillips with a lofty reputation. The defensive end transferred from Mount Carmel, where he had developed into one of the area’s standout defensive players.
The transition has been seamless.
“He’s an absolute true blessing,” Phillips coach Troy McAllister said. “He’s been great with our young players, a great leader. He’s a great young man with a whole lot of character. Obviously, his on- field play speaks for itself. He’s just been dominant.”
Taylor was a force in Week 3 against Simeon, with three sacks and a handful of batted- down passes. The 6- 4, 215- pound senior turned on his defensive prowess again Saturday as the No. 4 Wildcats beat host Westinghouse 47- 6.
Catholic League and Public League teams play in the same city, but have much different cultures and styles of play.
“There’s a lot more freedom at Phillips,” Taylor said. “I’m more free to actually speed rush. I find that pretty awesome. The Catholic League was more about power, run as hard as you can and you’ll make it three or four yards. In the Public League it is a lot more about speed. I’m trying to get off the tackle and make the sack as fast as I can. That’s the big difference.”
Taylor has scholarship offers from NIU, Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Western Michigan.
“We are hoping to get him a Power Five offer,” McAllister said. “But he already has some pretty good schools involved. He has some great clips from the first three games to put out there for other schools to take a look and see. They’ll pull up his highlight film and see he’s pretty special.”
Quarterback J’Bore Gibbs had a big game for the Wildcats ( 4- 0, 1- 0 Illini Land of Lincoln). The senior was 10for- 15 for 183 yards, including a 51- yard touchdown pass to Jahleel Billingsley and a 47yard touchdown pass to Fabian McCray.
Gibbs had 11 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Billingsley finished with four catches for 79 yards, and McCray had three receptions for 65 yards.
Westinghouse ( 3- 1, 0- 1) entered the game undefeated, but just couldn’t establish any offensive flow against Phillips. Only five of the Warriors’ 22 offensive plays resulted in positive yardage. The big one was a 74- yard touchdown pass from Sarell Booker to Tryvis Ousley in the third quarter.
While Phillips continues to take Public League football to new heights, things are rough overall in the league.
Young forfeited Friday’s game against Taft. The Dolphins have just 26 players this season, so a few injuries sustained in last week’s game against Goode has left the squad short- handed.
“Our administration made the determination that playing this week would not be in the best interests of our players. Many of our players are lower- level kids,” Young coach Tim Franken said.
Just two seasons ago, Young was a perfect 9- 0 in the regular season and advanced to the Class 8A state playoffs. This season the Dolphins are 0- 3 and haven’t scored yet. Things don’t get easier the next few weeks. Young is scheduled to play Simeon in Week 5 and Curie in Week 6.
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