Brignac Has the Last Word for Taft in 21-0 Win

Taft running back Marquis Brignac grew up around San Fernando High and still lives near the school. He tested some longtime friendships Friday night.

But for any taunts he may have received, Brignac was the one who got the final word as he rushed for 159 yards in 23 carries to lead the Toreadors to a 21-0 Northwest Valley Conference victory at San Fernando.

However, Taft needed its entire bag of tricks to score against the Tigers, using a double pass for its first score and a halfback pass from Brignac to Ronald Andrews for another.

“Against San Fernando weird things always seem to happen,” Taft Coach Troy Starr said. “I figured we would try some weird things.”

Andrews finished with five catches for 85 yards with touchdowns of 27 and 46 yards.

The 27-yarder gave Taft (4-1, 2-0) a 7-0 lead with 6:53 left in the first half. Reserve quarterback K.C. Bounds, who starts at receiver, found Andrews alone down the sideline after taking a lateral from starting quarterback Brandon Hance.

Then Brignac joined the act, finding Andrews alone again for a 46-yard score with 8:53 remaining in the third quarter.

Hance then got to throw a touchdown pass of his own, completing a seven-yard throw to Brignac with 9:17 left to play.

However, it was Brignac’s workmanlike running that allowed Taft to dominate the game.

Brignac was dropped for a loss just once though San Fernando (3-2, 0-2) was obviously keying on him. He was also able to overshadow San Fernando’s Major Caldwell in what was to have been a battle of two of the region’s top running backs.

“All week I knew I was going to get heat,” Brignac said. “Everybody was talking about Major and me. Our defense stepped up big.”

The matchup between Brignac and Caldwell didn’t materialize thanks to an impressive effort by the Taft defense, which held the Tigers to 134 yards.

Despite enjoying good field position for most of the night, San Fernando never was a serious threat to score.

Caldwell was shut down by the Taft defense, gaining 63 yards in 18 carries.

San Fernando quarterback Larry Brown was ineffective, completing 7 of 18 passes for 69 yards.