Taft Spoils Finale for Thomas, 18-7

It was Barry Thomas’s last game on the Monroe High football field. A defensive back who was switched to quarterback because of his athletic ability, the senior was being watched by University of Nevada-Las Vegas scouts.

He ran, he passed and he scored a touchdown.

“If he could throw a lot better,” Taft Coach Tom Stevenson said. “Monroe would be unstoppable.”

So he threw for only 24 yards and gained only 68 yards rushing, but a sparse crowd at Monroe on Friday night could see he had the heart of a winner. Thomas sat dejected on his knees after Taft’s Monty Gilbreath ran past Thomas for a 25-yard touchdown to give Taft an 18-7 victory.

But Thomas’ talent may have been his downfall as well as the Vikings.

“After we saw Thomas was going to run the ball,” Stevenson said, “We knew if we could get control of the ball, time would run out. We didn’t want the clock to stop and with him running we knew time would run out quickly.”

The plan worked for Stevenson, who had predicted quarterback Ray Daniels would pass 25 to 30 times Friday. He passed only eight times.

It was sort of a comeback victory for Taft, although it would have been a comeback win for Monroe also if the Vikings would have won. The score was an even, 7-7 at the half.

“We fumbled the ball a lot,” Stevenson said. “If we can handle the ball, we’re potent. In the second half we didn’t make any mistakes and we came back and won. In the first half we didn’t control the ball.”

The Vikings, who beat Birmingham last week, 23-13, scored on the first possession of the game. Thomas, who rushed for 24 yards on the 12-play drive, ran it in from the six. Thomas, who is a better all-around athlete than he is a quarterback, is playing for an injured Robert Harding.

The fact that both teams even scored in the first half was amazing, considering both teams combined for seven turnovers. Monroe’s fumble, which Gilbreath recovered, set up Taft’s first touchdown. From the Monroe’s 22, Taft used three plays to score, Kevin Wolfe took it in from four yards out. Wolfe is third among City school rushers in the Valley. His score with 1:25 left in the second quarter evened the score, 7-7.

Taft went ahead early in the fourth quarter on a 31-yard field goal by George Diem. Monroe took over on the Torreadors seven and could advance the ball only three yards before a Taft defensive tackle chased Thomas into the endzone where Avery pulled him down by the jersey for a safety. The sack put Taft up 12-7.

Taft received the ensuing free kick on the Monroe 41, where they produced a charging four-yard drive to the goal. Gilbreath dashed in and out of defenders, past Thomas, and capped the night’s scoring.

“I have to give an awful lot of credit to our offensive line,” Stevenson said. “If they don’t come through for us, then we can’t control the ball.”

Stevenson also had high praise for the Taft defense, which is the leading defensive squad among Valley-area City teams.