Taft Gangs Up on Hamilton, 28-0 : Prep football: Toreadors dominate on both sides of the ball in nonleague win.

Taft High’s unrelenting defensive line and its productive offensive backfield proved too much for Hamilton on Saturday night, as the Toreadors shut out the Yankees, 28-0, in a nonleague football game at Taft.

The Toreadors held Hamilton to just two yards in total offense in the second half and caught the Yankees behind the line of scrimmage in five of Hamilton’s 13 plays for a loss of 37 yards.

Darnell Hendricks, who rushed for 97 yards in 10 carries in the first half, scored Taft’s first touchdown on a 12-yard run with one minute 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Hendricks, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound running back, scored again on Taft’s first series of the second half. The Toreadors went 56 yards in six plays, with Hendricks taking it in for a touchdown from the 10.

Hendricks finished with 124 yards in 14 carries.

Hamilton, which gained 70 yards in the first half, had all kinds of trouble moving the ball in the second half. With Taft leading, 14-0, Hamilton quarterback Julio Gomez called two running plays before Rueben Benitiz picked off a Gomez pass and returned it 39 yards to Hamilton’s 27-yard line.

After two clipping penalties, Taft quarterback Jessie Menchaca connected with Vance Swendell on a 30-yard touchdown pass. Taft faked the extra point, with Menchaca, who was holding for kicker Carlos Mansilla, rising from a a kneeling position and hitting Daryl Cash for a two-point conversion.

Steve Harris provided the Toreadors with 60 yards in five carries.

Taft dominated on both sides of the ball, but the Toreadors looked sloppy at times. Taft fumbled four times in the second half, losing possession twice.