Gabriel Taylor Jr., Curie move closer to state playoff berth

Gabriel Taylor Jr. played Pop Warner football growing up in New Jersey, but his focus shifted when he moved to Chicago before his freshman year.

Taylor was part of the Curie boys basketball program, consistently one of the best in the Public League and the state. Football wasn’t on his radar until another basketball player made a pitch to Taylor and Saquan Commings.

“Markeith Taylor, one of our teammates — he joined (the football team) before us,” Gabriel Taylor said. “He convinced us to join Week 3, Week 4.”

That decision has worked out better than Gabriel Taylor or his Curie teammates could have imagined.

Gabriel Taylor, Commings and Markeith Taylor have been impact players for the Condors, who have engineered one of the state’s biggest turnarounds under first-year coach Jarve Lewis-Bey.

Winners of just four games the previous four seasons — and none in 2023 — Curie moved to the brink of IHSA playoff eligibility with a 24-12 Week 8 win against Lake View at Lane.

After their fourth win in five weeks, the Condors (4-4, 4-2 Public League White North) were in a position to likely clinch a berth with a Week 9 win against Urban Prep-Bronzeville.

Much of the credit goes to the big-play capability of Gabriel Taylor and others. A week after he had a 40-yard pick-six in a win over Mather, Taylor had 83 yards on five touches against Lake View. The highlight was a 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-three in the second quarter.

Commings returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown against Lake View right before halftime. In the Mather win, he had a 90-yard pick-six.

“When one of us makes a play — like when Saquan made that kick return today — it just gave everybody the energy to go out there and play hard, stay focused, be disciplined,” Gabriel Taylor said. “And we did a good job at that today. We didn’t jump offside, we only had a few penalties called.

“We made a big mistake and got (Antonio Henry’s apparent 60-yard TD) run called back because of penalties. But we’re gonna work on that.”

Fixing those issues is easier than finding game-changers like Gabriel Taylor and Commings.

“Gabe (was) an elementary-school football player (but) wasn’t impressed with the (football) program when he came, so he just stayed with basketball,” Lewis-Bey said.

But the coach is glad for the influx of basketball talent into his rebuilding program.

“We’re grateful to the basketball coaches, coach (Mike) Oliver for allowing his kids to play,” Lewis-Bey said. “Some coaches, some places I’ve been, they don’t want to.”

Darius Townsel is another playmaker for the Condors. He scored four touchdowns in a Week 5 win over Senn; against Lake View, he caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Dennis Calloway and tackled a Wildcats ball carrier in the end zone for a safety.

It all added up to another step forward for the Condors, who had a quick turnaround, playing on Thursday after a Saturday game the week before.

“We started out real slow,” Lewis-Bey said. “And I can’t blame it on the short week, even though I want to. But … once we got moving and started playing, other guys stepped up and made plays for us.”