HS FOOT: Taft leads by 34 at half vs. Garfield

After a inconsistent regular season that saw Taft High of Woodland Hills fall out of the state top 20, the Toreadors wanted to make a statement Thursday in the first round of the City Section Div. I football playoffs.

It did not take long at all.

Bam Goodall passed 59 yards to Donnel Robinson for a touchdown on the first play, and Taft (7-4) is leading 34-0 over Garfield at halftime.

Taft led 21-0 before Garfield managed a first down.

Taking advantage of a Garfield punt of minus-1 yard, Goodall passed 37 yards to D.J. Morgan for Taft's second touchdown, as Morgan weaved across the field to the end zone.

But Goodall soon was removed from the game because of dizziness and did not return. The extent of Goodall's injury was unclear, but he was talking and interacting with coaches and teammates.

Instead of going with a backup quarterback, Taft switched Morgan to quarterback, and the USC-bound senior responded by scoring on a 15-yard run, then passing 80 yards to Lucky Radley for a touchdown on a short shovel pass.

Any plans of a Garfield were squashed when when Shaquille Shelton scored on a 45-yard run with 19 second remaining in the first half to make it 34-0.

Taft amassed 382 yards in the first half -- 207 rushing and 175 passing -- while holding Garfield to 39.

Goodall finished 3 of 4 for 95 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 57 yards on four carries.

In the first half, Radley rushed for 54 yards on nine carries, while Shelton added 57 yards on three carries and Morgan had 39 yards on four carries.

Fourth-seeded Taft plays host to Dorsey of L.A. (8-3)/San Pedro (8-3) on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

With so many explosive game-breakers on offense, combined with a hard-hitting athletic defense led by defensive linemen Antwaun Woods and Brent Williams, Taft can be an intimidating opponent for just about anyone. The problem has been, the Toreadors have looked great one week, then very shaky the next -- for instance, hanging tough in an overtime loss to Serra of Gardena in Week 5 but a few weeks later falling to 1-7 Birmingham of Lake Balboa in what was probably the biggest upset of the season involving San Fernando Valley teams.

One thing is for sure: If the Taft does not let off the pressure from this point, the Toreadors could do some serious damage in the playoffs. Whether or not that means eventually knocking off powerful Crenshaw in the semifinals remains to be seen, but that probably will be the only way Taft would able to see the L.A. Coliseum in the championship game, so we shall see what happens.