Dorsey Dominates Taft in Blowout

It wasn’t football, it was keep-away.

Whenever Dorsey High got its hands on the ball Wednesday night, it squeezed every molecule of oxygen out of it. And every drop of life out of Taft.

“We knew they were a very explosive team,” Dorsey Coach Paul Knox said. “We’d seen the scores all year. The longer we had the ball, the better it was for us.”

Better is exactly what Dorsey was. The Dons pounded Taft, 33-7, in a City Section 4-A Division quarterfinal game at Taft.

How’s this for stinginess? In the first half, Dorsey (9-3) ran 32 plays from scrimmage to 17 for Taft. Second-seeded Taft (10-2) didn’t run an offensive play until there were two minutes left in the first quarter.

When the Toreadors had the ball, they left nothing but skid marks on the hash marks. Taft’s longest drive lasted six plays--including a punt--and the offense was held to only 110 yards.

On the game’s first play, Dorsey wingback Roderick Brown broke loose inside and bolted 71 yards for a touchdown.

Taft countered with a Brown of its own, Jerry, on the ensuing kickoff. Brown accounted for Taft’s only spark when he returned the kick 80 yards for a touchdown to give the Toreadors a 7-6 lead.

On its next possession, Dorsey drove 66 yards in 15 plays to take a 12-7 lead. The game really got away from Taft, though, in the final moments of the first half.

On fourth and two at the Dorsey 35, Jerry Brown was stopped cold on a run over the left side with 1 minute 37 seconds left in the half. The Taft bench exploded, claiming Brown--who was momentarily stunned by the tackle--was face-masked and Dorsey should have been penalized.

Taft linebacker DaShon Polk, sidelined with a shoulder injury and clad in street clothes, bolted onto the field and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. After the penalty, Dorsey took over at the Taft 48 and built a 20-7 lead five plays later on a 10-yard scoring pass from Antwain Wilson to sophomore Raymont Skaggs.

Taft managed only six first downs. Junior quarterback Brian Shubin, making his first start, completed only four of 10 passes for 54 yards. He was yanked at the half in favor of junior Dayon Shaw, who completed one of six passes for 16 yards before injuring an ankle in the fourth quarter.