By By Scott Walters/Special to the Star
Nov. 18, 2001
BAY SPRINGS n When Taylorsvillle lined up and ran the football Friday night, very good things happened for the Tartars.
Taylorsville rushed for more than 300 yards and in the process ran Region 7-2A rival Bay Springs out of the South Mississippi Class 2A high school football playoffs.
The Tartars (9-3) advance to next week's south state Class 2A semifinal
round. Taylorsville will host Saint John. Saint John (11-1) defeated Bassfield 41-20 in another second-round contest Friday night.
Taylorsville extended its win streak to seven straight with Friday's win.
The second win in the streak was a hard-fought 9-6 victory at Bay Springs.
Taylorsville quarterback Craig Agee said. "A lot of us had questions about what we were doing. Now, everybody is confident. We're playing well on
offense. This game we owe it all to the offensive line because they did a tremendous job."
Tremendous, indeed. Taylorsville rushed 48 times for 302 yards. All four
Tartar touchdowns came on the ground. Taylorsville cranked out 15 first
downs and only had one turnover n a lost fumble after a bad snap on a fourth
down punt attempt.
Taylorsville held a precarious 9-7 advantage at halftime. In the second half, the Tartars scored on three of their first four possessions.
Taylorsville finished with 334 yards of total offense. Tartar Larry Page had the only pass interception in the game.
Bay Springs finished with 255 total yards and 13 first downs. The Bulldogs rushed 26 times for 40 yards.
Meanwhile, Taylorsville will practice during the Thanksgiving holidays. The Tartars defeated their chief region rival for the fourth time in five meetings in a three-year stretch.
Taylorsville stands three wins away from a fifth Class 2A state championship.
you have to play hard and play well to survive."