In one of the few all-Valley matchups on the Week Zero slate, the Taft Toreadors notched their first victory of the season over a very game Poly Parrots squad on Friday night, 37-16. The final score did not reflect how tightly contested this game was. Both teams made timely plays on both sides of the ball, but in the end, the Toreadors capitalized on their opportunities to secure a comfortable margin of victory.

It was the debut of Poly head coach Boo Williams, and despite having a few players unable to suit up, the Parrots came out of the gate on defense, flying around the ball. Taft took an early gamble that paid off, going for a fourth-and-long deep in their own end. The drive culminated in a Jacob Southall touchdown, breaking the scoring seal and giving the Toreadors an early 7-0 lead. The Parrots would respond on their first drive of the young season, marching down the field behind freshman quarterback Jaden Perez. Perez played with a poise and confidence that exceeded his experience, as he got the Parrots on the board and converted the two-point try to give the Parrots an 8-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter.  

In an eventful second quarter, both teams ramped up defensively and traded stops. Taft would eventually mount a drive that saw them get down inside the Parrots’ five-yard line, but back-to-back illegal procedure penalties and an interception by Poly’s Montrell Long would turn Taft away. Perez and the Poly offense would mount a drive that saw them go the length of the field on the back of a strong rushing performance by Justice Brown, who served as Poly’s bell cow for much of the game. The drive would be punctuated by a Perez TD strike in the corner of the end zone to Brown, with a successful two-point conversion to give the Parrots a 16-7 lead with under 30 seconds to go in the half. Taft’s Xavier Johnson broke off a long kick return down to the Poly 25-yard line, followed by two quick pass completions for a touchdown that would pull Taft back to within a point heading into halftime.

Taft’s second-half adjustments saw an emphasis on physicality, as they began to wear down Poly’s offensive and defensive front. Poly had opportunities in the third quarter to make it interesting, but they were not able to convert. Southall had a huge second half rushing the ball and helping the Toreadors control the game. He ended up with 3 total touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving). Senior wideout Levi Parvizi also contributed to the Taft second-half surge with two touchdown catches.

The Toreadors will look to keep the good times rolling when they hit the road to travel to Ojai for a faceoff against Nordhoff. Poly will look to hone in on the positives this week before hosting Sylmar for their home opener.