Football: Maury-Lake Taylor preview

NORFOLK

What a difference a week makes.

Two weeks ago, Friday’s Eastern District game between Maury and Lake Taylor didn’t have a lot of appeal outside of its history as a big rivalry.

Maury was 2-2 and riding a two-game winning streak, but Lake Taylor was ranked second in South Hampton Roads and sporting some gaudy statistical numbers.

All that changed when the Commodores knocked off a ranked Norcom squad 17-7 last week.

A second “big” victory in a row Friday and Maury (3-2, 2-0) will be in the Eastern District driver’s seat.

“We knew the first two games were going to be hard,” Maury coach John Quinerly said of losses to Phoebus and Woodside of the Peninsula District. “We lost to a couple of playoff teams, and we have a bunch of young guys who had never played in that arena before.

“But we got that behind us. ... We’ve improved every outing — in the stats, in conditioning ... in every aspect of the game.”

Quinerly says that the Titans (5-0, 2-0) throw out plenty of hurdles.

“I guess the biggest is their swagger,” he said. “They have a winning attitude, and it can hurt you before the game even starts. “But you know? We’re the last Eastern District team to beat them.”

Maury edged the Titans 13-0 in 2006.

Aside from the winning mentality, Lake Taylor boasts big numbers.

On offense, the Titans are averaging 353 yards and 44 points per game. On defense, they’re yielding averages of 120 yards and 5.4 points a game.

Individually, the Titans are equally impressive.

Running back Boogie McCray has rushed for 636 yards and has scored 11 touchdowns. He’s averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Quarterback Jarred Battle has passed for 691 yards and nine touchdowns. And wide receiver Trevor Adams has 16 catches for 323 yards — 20.2 per catch— and has six touchdowns.

Staff picks:

Lee says  Lake Taylor 28, Maury 14

Jami says  Lake Taylor 24, Maury 7

Larry says  Lake Taylor 34, Maury 28