Millard South quarterback Trae Taylor set the tone for the kind of night he was going to have against Millard West on his first pass of the game.
On the Patriots’ second play from scrimmage Friday, Taylor avoided the Wildcat pressure, scrambled to his right and uncorked a 75-yard touchdown pass to Jesse Johnson to put Class A No. 2 Millard South in front for good in a game the Patriots went on to win 59-0.
Taylor threw for 345 yards and five touchdowns, including three to Tay Ellis, and ran for 60 yards and a score.
“It’s having all of our explosive players together,” Taylor said of Millard South’s offensive success. “I feel like we’ve caught our stride together.”
Taylor’s pass to Johnson went 50 yards in the air, and Johnson, who got behind the Wildcat secondary, ran the final 30 yards for the score to put the Patriots (6-0) ahead 62 seconds into the game.
“I ran my post route and I kind of got caught up and I saw the middle of the field open and I took advantage of it and saw Trae look at me,” Johnson said.
After a Wildcat punt, Taylor connected with Carter Margheim on a 51-yard touchdown pass. Margheim caught the pass at the Wildcat 30-yard line and broke four tackles on his way to the end zone to push the Patriot lead to 14-0.
Ellis caught his three touchdowns in the first half, with each coming on a similar route. His first covered 43 yards and had him get behind the Millard West secondary on a go route along the near sideline.
He added a second touchdown reception late in the first quarter on another go route, this one going 37 yards along the far sideline to give the Patriots a 28-0 lead after the first quarter.
Ellis added a third touchdown late in the second quarter, when he got behind the Wildcats for a 54-yard strike down the middle of the field.
“Coach Mendy (Millard South coach Taylor Mendenhall) trusted me, my teammates trusted me,” Ellis said. “The offensive line did a very good job of blocking for Trae, and then Trae delivering that dot was unbelievable.”
Ellis had missed the previous two games with an injury.
“(Mendenhall) had a huge part, and you know, just get me back on the field and allow me to practice hard and just being there for me and motivating me,” he said.
The Patriots scored on their first six possessions to lead 42-0 at halftime.
Aidan Marshall added a rushing touchdown in the third quarter and Drew Kozeal returned a Millard West fumble 30 yards for a scoop and score in the fourth.
Millard South put up 529 yards of offense in picking up its 18th consecutive win and has scored 212 points (53 per game) in its past four games.
The Patriot defense limited the Wildcats (3-3) 102 yards of offense. Millard West punted eight times and committed two turnovers.
Millard South posted its first shutout since beating Papillion-La Vista South 49-0 in last season’s Class A state championship game.
The Patriots will visit Omaha Westview on Friday, while Millard West hosts Washburn Rural (Kan.).
