CB West's Taylor steps in at quarterback and leads Bucks to huge victory
DOYLESTOWN — This was not the way Cooper Taylor wanted to be the starting quarterback for Central Bucks West on Opening Night.
Far from it.
"Just a shout out to Ganz," Taylor said of the Bucks' three-year starting quarterback Ganz Cooper. "We're really good friends and I feel very bad for him."
Cooper, a senior like Taylor, sustained a knee injury a few weeks ago at a camp at East Stroudsburg University and is expected to miss the entire season.
That meant it was time for Taylor to step up.
"We've tried to get both of them ready for months because our quarterbacks run a lot and they can get hurt," West head coach Rob Rowan said. "So Taylor was ready to go when we needed him to step up."
Indeed he was. As Taylor rolled left on West's first play from scrimmage and raced 62 yards for a touchdown and West never trailed the rest of the way in a 17-13 win over two-time defending PIAA District One Class 6A champion Garnet Valley on a sticky Friday night at War Memorial Stadium. The Jaguars defeated the Bucks 35-7 in last season's district title game.
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"I've been the backup quarterback for four years, and I've taken a lot of snaps in practice," said Taylor, who was a bruising safety the previous two seasons but now finds himself only playing offense.
"So I felt like I was ready to go and wanted to show what I could do."
He would finish with a game-high 176 rushing yards on 21 carries to go along with the score.
"Cooper and Ganz are different kinds of players with different skill sets," Rowan said. "Our kids have confidence in Cooper and in what he can do.
"You feel just awful for Ganz because he's meant so much to this program, but he's keeping his head up and helping us every day."
When the injury occurred, Cooper wasn't that concerned.
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"It was a non-contact injury, and my knee swelled up, but two days later I was running," Cooper said.
"Then I found out a little later that it was torn. So now I'm going to be rooting for these guys because they're all my friends."
So now it's Taylor's turn to lead the Bucks in a season full of optimism that grew even more optimistic after Friday's victory.
"They had beaten us three times in a row and we came out a little angry," Taylor said. "It's a great way to start the season for us and we have to keep it going."
Game balls
Ryan Clemens, CB West, running back: Far from the biggest player on the field, the 5-foot-6, 165-pound junior has taken over from the graduated Eli Boehm (now playing at Duquesne University) and provided a crucial 111 yards rushing, including several huge third- and fourth-down conversion runs.
Jack Williams, CB West, defensive lineman: On the Jaguars' final drive, the Bucks needed a stop and Williams' clean, crunching hit on Garnet Valley quarterback Tyler Lassik forced Lassik's pass to flutter and it was picked off by third-string defensive back Vance Morelli to wrap things up.
Fans of high school football: We all saw a great game between teams with high aspirations. Garnet Valley hadn't lost to a District One team since 2019 (winning 34 straight games) and the Jaguars didn't go away easy. Don't be surprised if these two meet again in November.
Football opening weekend is special: Start of season brings renewed optimism
Drew Markol: dmarkol@theintell.com; @dmarkol
More: Check here to keep up on all the high school football 2023 season action for Bucks County
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: For CB West's Taylor, transition to starting QB goes smoothly
