Niagara Falls went blow-for-blow with Jamestown.
Despite being 2-6, quarterback Michael Taylor ran for a touchdown to grab a 26-20 lead early in the third quarter. He had 263 yards of total offense and three scores up to that point, but he injured his right ankle on the play and didn’t return in a 48-32 loss.
For a brief moment, Niagara Falls saw a glimmer of hope in a program that has struggled in recent years. The Wolverines haven’t posted a winning record since 2016 and have gone 4-22 since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
With Taylor among the 28 players back from last season, taking the Section VI Class AA runners-up to the brink has given Niagara Falls optimism it can craft a talented group of athletes into a winner this season.
“That’s what we’ve shown them,” Niagara Falls head coach Don Bass said. “That’s what you’re capable of doing. And every one of the players that are returning realizes that, ‘Coach, if we would have just kind of locked in earlier, we could have had this kind of success.’ That’s okay. Now, let’s look ahead. Let’s play it forward and that has been the catalyst that we’ve used. This is what you can do if you practice.”
To prepare, Bass led the team’s weight room program in November with an emphasis on power lifts to help beef up a program known primarily for speed and athleticism. On the offensive line, Niagara Falls is projected to return Kayvon Agee and Xavier Baney, who, respectively, were the starting left tackle and left guard last year.
They will be blocking for Taylor, who had 1,145 yards of total offense, with seven of his eight touchdowns on the ground alone. Jeremiah James rushed for 303 yards and four touchdowns while fellow running back Kenauri Armstrong returns after transferring to Lake Travis High School in Texas after Week 2.
“It showed me how capable our offense could be because we got all of our pieces back,” Taylor said. “It shows me how much that we can score in one quarter. It shows me how capable we are of scoring, that we can score every drive. We just push the ball, we can score anytime we want. So as long as we do that and keep the same mentality, we should have a great season.”
Last season, the Wolverines allowed 34.7 points per game, including shutout losses to Bennett and Orchard Park by a combined 87-0. But Niagara Falls’ changes on defense with formations are aimed to help simplify the system for its players, along with having a balanced attack.
With the amount of experience returning on the defensive side of the ball, Bass has decided to add more complex coverages after feeling the Wolverines were too predictable while trying to acclimate a young group of players.
“There’s more areas of coverage, I think, we could use toward our advantage,” Niagara Falls strong safety Jayden Hicks said. “Like the speed we got, the speed to be able to get anywhere.”
Niagara Falls hosts West Seneca West at 2 p.m. on Sept. 7.