Just a junior, St. Laurence quarterback Noah Taylor has a very bright future.
His present looks really promising as well.
In guiding the Vikings to a 28-13 victory over host Plainfield South in a Class 7A first-round matchup on Oct. 31, Taylor was 16 of 28 passing for 214 yards and threw TD passes to Jackson Kavois and Dakarai Simmons (six catches, 77 yards).
St. Laurence (5-6) will host Lincoln-Way West (7-4) in a second-round game at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“Honestly, I feel like I’ve been counted out by a lot of people,” Taylor said. “Everyone tells me that I’m a run-first quarterback and shouldn’t really be out there playing quarterback.
“But I’ve played quarterback my whole life and I knew that I had it in me. I think it’s starting to click for me and I’m going to be really dangerous soon.”
As well as Taylor threw the ball, his legs also benefited him against the Cougars (8-2) as he rushed 13 times for 100 yards. The Vikings also saw Finn Crotty carry seven times for 69 yards.
“We were really young last year and we had a bunch of sophomores pulled up and some juniors,” Taylor said. “… We know how it gets in the playoffs and that gives us advantages against teams that really haven’t been here before like Plainfield South.”
Leading 7-0 after Taylor’s 48-yard TD pass to Kavois at 10:36 of the first quarter, St. Laurence doubled its advantage to 14-0 as Keynan Morgan scored on a 25-yard TD run with 43 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Up 14-13 at halftime, the Vikings added to their lead as Taylor connected with Simmons on a 20-yard TD strike with 45 seconds to play in the third quarter, making the score 20-13.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the way (Taylor) played today,” St. Laurence coach Pat Swanson said. “Obviously, we knew he was a really good runner the whole year. He really does some special things in that department and makes us really good there.
“To see his progression as a thrower throughout the year, I was really happy with him and I know that he was really excited. It’s special to see the light bulb turn on a little bit with some guys. And (it’s great) to see some of our receivers on the outside help him out and find ways to get open.
“And you have the freshman Dakarai Simmons, who’s going up and making plays and doing those things. You can definitely tell that Noah’s confidence was growing all week. He had a really, really really good week of practice — probably one of his best weeks in two years, to be honest with you — and it’s good to see that confidence played over into the game.”
Dave Campbell provided some breathing room for St. Laurence with 6:29 to play in the fourth quarter as he ran for a TD.