By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
Sept. 18, 2004
PHILADELPHIA Jeremy Holmes turned what could have been a disastrous play into one of Philadelphia's best.
The Tornadoes senior scooped up a slow-rolling kickoff near his own goal line and raced 97 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, putting Philadelphia in front for good on Friday in its 33-12 win over Taylorsville.
The kickoff return was the Tornadoes' immediate answer to a Taylorsville touchdown that trimmed Philadelphia's lead to 7-6. Justin Wilson took a screen pass 57 yards to pull the Tartars within one.
It was one of only a handful of big plays given up by the Tornadoes' defense, almost all of which came on short dump-offs, screens or shovel passes.
The one-point margin separating Philadelphia and Taylorsville was short-lived, though. Holmes' touchdown came 18 seconds later, giving the Tornadoes the first of 26 unanswered points.
The senior also added 82 rushing yards on seven carries and three catches for 34 receiving yards.
Philadelphia's first score came late in the first quarter after its defense created a short field for the Tornadoes' offense. After Taylorsville was forced to punt from its own end zone, Philadelphia took over on the Tartars' 26-yard line.
Two plays later, Talmer Burnside put the Tornadoes on the scoreboard with the first of his two touchdown runs.
Burnside, who rushed for 44 yards on 14 carries, also tallied Philadelphia's final touchdown of the night on a six-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.
After Holmes long kickoff return, Tornadoes quarterback Porter Jordan padded his team's lead late in the second quarter. Jordan connected with junior tight end Landon Gilmer for a 48-yard touchdown strike with barely a minute left in the first half.
Jordan also added Philadelphia's first points of the second half on a 30-yard field goal with 9:01 left in the third quarter, giving the Tornadoes a 24-6 lead. The senior signal caller finished with 124 passing yards, and Philly amassed 338 yards of total offense.
The Tartars' offense was not so fortunate. After yielding Taylorsville's long touchdown early in the second quarter, Philadelphia held the Tartars scoreless until the final play of the game, when Darrin McBeath ran three yards for a touchdown as time expired.
But the Tornadoes' defense did more than just hold Taylorsville in check. Three minutes into the fourth quarter, senior linebacker Jeremy Boler pulled down the Tartars' runner for a safety and a 26-6 Philadelphia lead.
The loss sent Taylorsville to 0-4.