Gabriel Taylor was glad to be back after a two-game injury layoff, and Curie was glad to have him.
The senior quarterback ran for a pair of touchdowns and played defensive back in crunch time as the Condors earned a hard-fought 30-28 win over Mather on Oct. 2 at Rockne Stadium.
The win — the 300th in program history — made Curie (5-1, 3-1 Public League North) playoff-eligible for the second straight season after a three-year postseason drought.
Malik Horton had the Condors’ fourth kickoff-return TD of the season, a 90-yarder, and ran six times for 54 yards. Darius Townsel had 11 carries for 122 yards and a TD as all of Curie’s 213 yards came on the ground.
“It was horrible not being able to play,” Taylor said. “But it was amazing to watch my team win, watching these guys fall (in) behind our QB2, Damian (Feret). … We stayed as a team. We didn’t not believe in him because he was a sophomore playing up.”
Curie briefly fell behind 10-0 in the second quarter after Mather’s Daniel Neiconi kicked a 27-yard field goal. But Horton ran the kickoff back for a score.
“I was like, ‘Hey, we need a big moment to happen,'” Horton said. “So I made a big one happen. I feel like that (brought) our energy back.”
Townsel’s 1-yard TD put Curie up 16-10 at halftime. Mather (4-2, 3-1) tied it at 16 in the third quarter. But another long kickoff return by Horton and Townsel’s 30-yard run set up Taylor’s 1-yard score for a 24-16 Condors lead at 6:12 of the third.
The teams traded touchdowns again early in the fourth quarter, with Taylor’s 7-yard score making it 30-22 at 7:57.
Curie didn’t get the ball back after that, as Mather scored, recovered an onside kick and got to the Condors 29 before running out of time.
Taylor isn’t 100% yet, but sitting out was not an option.
“I’m about 85% and I came out here because I wanted to be with my guys,” he said. “I couldn’t go another week (without playing). And honestly, I rehurt my ankle again. But I will be playing next week. I’m not taking another week off.”
Horton was glad to have Taylor back.
“Even though Damian is a good quarterback, Gabe is like, a leader,” Horton said. “He talks, he (pushes) you to your limit. It’s great to have Gabe back.”
Curie coach Jarve Lewis-Bey said his players are still learning how to win, which showed when Mather opened the 10-0 lead. The Condors were 5-5 in Lewis-Bey’s debut last year after winning four games total the previous four years.
“It’s the point where the guys who previously were losing are not used to winning,” Lewis-Bey said. “And they don’t know how to prepare to keep winning. So it took us a while to wake up and Mather was hitting us in the mouth.”
After Horton’s return TD, Lewis-Bey saw his players come to life.
“I’m glad they did, because it was a tough game,” he said.