High School Football Roundup : Taft Jolted by Los Angeles, 26-8, 5 Days After Shocking Servite

Only five days after a stunning upset of Servite High, Taft was snapped back to reality Thursday when the visiting Toreadors fell to Los Angeles, 26-8.

Taft (1-1) edged Servite, 7-6, Saturday night but found that playing two games within a six-day span was too daunting a task.

“They whipped us bad,” Coach Tom Stevenson said. “They beat us in every facet of the game and it was a total team breakdown on our part.”

Taft fell behind at halftime, 14-0, after Mike Justin ran 22 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and Devon Jackson threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Foreman in the second.

Los Angeles (2-0-1) increased its lead to 26-0 before Taft averted a shutout when Vance Swindell scored in the closing minutes on a three-yard run. Swindell’s touchdown ended a Taft scoring drought that had reached nearly seven quarters. The Toreadors’ only other score of the season came on their first possession against Servite.

“Offensively, I’m disappointed with us,” Stevenson said. “We’re not even close to being a good team.”