By Matthew Robinson
WOODLAND HILLS –The Taft Toreadors found out quickly on Friday that the La Salle Lancers were nothing like the Channel Islands Raiders team they faced a week ago. Last week the Toreadors methodically pushed the Raiders aside en route to a 42-12 road victory. But last night, with just over six minutes into the game, the Lancers got on the scoreboard with a 12-yard scoring pass and from there the visitors went on a 28-0 run, giving them a commanding 34-7 halftime lead, which helped the Lancers coast to a 48-13 win at Taft High’s Hal Lambert Stadium.
The Toreadors (3-2) in the first half were mired in mistakes, including penalties, dropped passes, three-and-outs, and offensive inconsistency. Moreover, the Toreadors could only muster 89 yards in total offense, with 89 passing yards and minus two yards rushing. Taft’s prolific junior running back Jacob Southall, who came into the game fourth in the entire Los Angeles City Section in rushing yards with 515 and a healthy 128.8 yards rushing per game average, only gained 46 yards on 10 carries and no score against La Salle. Southall in the first half had six carries for 40 yards, while in the second half he was held to just six yards on four carries. The Taft offensive coordinator for much of the first and second halves used Southall in the passing game due to the running back’s lack of success on the ground, and Southall responded with five catches for 52 yards and the Toreadors’ only score of the first half.
On the night, Taft mustered a paltry 145 yards, with 149 yards from the passing game and minus four yards from the running game. One can attribute those statistics to an off night for the Toreador offense and the stingy defensive play of the Lancers, who were all over Southall every time he carried the ball for short or big gains.
Taft Head Coach Thomas Randolph knew La Salle to be a formidable opponent, and he looks forward to exacting revenge in 2027.
“We schedule our preseason for a reason; I go tough, we go Southern Section, we go private, we’re not scared of anybody,” Randolph affirmed. “We knew who we were scheduling; that’s a well-coached team. We’ll see them again next year, and we’ll look to get that get-back [revenge].”
Taft junior quarterback Aiden Melia had a hot-and-cold (mostly cold) night as he went 10 for 28 for 149 yards, one touchdown pass, and one interception. As for his rushing statistics, he carried the ball six times for minus 25 yards, including three sacks. Melia is a talented dual-threat quarterback (runner and passer), but he wasn’t himself last night, with a so-so first half and a bad second half. In the first half, he went eight for 20 for 89 yards, one touchdown pass, and one interception. Then in the second half, his biggest highlight was a 43-yard pass that got his team to the La Salle 15-yard line, but other than that completion, he was quiet.
While Melia was going through his ups and downs Friday night, La Salle senior quarterback Jakari Bacot was a model of efficiency and one who understood how many offensive weapons he had at his disposal. Bacot distributed his passes to his top three receivers: senior Jalen Remis, junior Rocky Strong (one catch for 49 yards), and sophomore Aaron Villalobos (two catches for 89 yards and two scores). Remis was the star of this game as he latched onto six passes for 140 yards and three scores. Just about every time Remis got the ball in his hands, it was for a behind-the-defense scoring catch. As for Bacot for the night, he was 12 of 20 for 316 yards and five scoring passes. The contest was Bacot’s best passing game performance of his two-year varsity career at La Salle.
La Salle (4-1), on a three-game winning streak, gained 483 yards on total offense, with 316 of those yards coming through the air and 167 yards via the running game. Senior running back Denzel Carter had the majority of the Lancers’ rushing yards on the night, as he chipped in with 150 yards on 14 carries and one score. Carter was a sight to see in this contest as he slashed and dashed his way to 172 total yards (one catch for 22 yards).
If there was a bright light in this game for Taft on offense, it was junior wide receiver Sam Berger, who caught three passes for 78 yards. Yes, he had his share of drops that aggravated and mystified some Taft fans, but he is a player who will help the black and gold down the line.
The Toreadors may have found their number two running back in junior DJ Del Toro, who carried the ball twice for one yard and one touchdown. Those aren’t exactly endorsing numbers, but there’s a reason for that. Del Toro spent most of the game starting at middle linebacker, where he was in on eight tackles, which included three solo stops and one tackle for loss. Del Toro was happy with his defensive statistics and his four-yard scoring run late in the fourth quarter, but, like a true team player, they were secondary to him. He wanted to win the game as his teammates did, but La Salle had the upper hand all night.
“It was a rough game; it’s not about the individual stats; it’s about the team,” Del Toro expressed. “As a team, we took a big loss; we just have to keep getting better. We have to fight through this mental block that we’re in right now.”
As Del Toro pointed out, the Toreadors have to get better, which includes tackling better. Much of the Lancers’ big plays came courtesy of missed tackles, so-so tackling angles, or fatigue. Going up against Chatsworth in two weeks with its physical running backs Jacob Martinez and Donald Foster (who have over 750 combined rushing yards this year), Taft defenders will need to improve their tackling to have a chance to win that important West Valley League game.
On defense, the Toreadors were led by Del Toro, defensive end Eli Sabbah (six tackles, one tackle for loss), outside linebacker Jaxsyn Torrance (six tackles), Berger (four tackles), and defensive end Jayden Lewis (three tackles). Those five defenders were in the thick of things on just about every defensive play last night. Torrance is just a sophomore and 2026 represents his second year on the varsity level for Taft. Since 2025, Torrance has been in on 58 tackles and one tackle for loss. The youngster was appreciative of his night against the Lancers, but he too knows that missed tackles are one of the main issues for this team.
“I feel like I had a pretty decent game; I could have [done] way better; it was a lot of tackles I missed,” Torrance offered.
From their first offensive drive, it was evident that La Salle was going to be a big test, literally and mentally, for Torrance and his defensive mates.
“They were way bigger [than Channel Islands]; I had to hit some big boys.”
The Lancers started the game’s scoring when Bacot found Remis on a crossing route, with the receiver beating Taft junior cornerback Gabriel Bynum (two tackles) to the ball and the end zone for a 12-yard scoring pass. The extra point was no good, but with 6:08 left in the first quarter, the Lancers were up 6-0.
With 1:22 left in the first quarter, Bacot took the snap and dropped back to his own 18-yard line, and from there he threw a pass that traveled 43 yards in the air, with the pass then falling into the arms of Remis near the Taft 37-yard line. Remis, with the ball in his hands, then ran forward to the Taft 33-yard line, where he put on the brakes to help get rid of Bynum, with the ploy working to perfection as the defensive back lost his balance on the Taft 30-yard and then fell at the 28, and from there it was smooth sailing to the end zone for Remis. The 75-yard scoring pass ended up being the biggest and most exciting play of the night for both teams. The extra point kick by senior kicker Will Thorell moved the score to 13-0.
Carter got in on the scoring action when he followed some key blocks on the left side, which included a crunching block by Villalobos that knocked Taft defensive back Max Erglis (one tackle) off his feet and to the ground just past the Taft 46-yard line; from there, Carter ran unscathed to the end zone to complete a 49-yard scoring run. With the true extra point kick by Thorell, the score moved to 20-0 with 11:51 left in the second quarter.
Taft finally got on the scoreboard late in the second quarter when Melia found a wide-open Southall near the Lancer seven-yard line; the running back then galloped into the end zone to complete the 17-yard scoring connection. Kicker Christian Serrano’s extra point kick was good, which moved the score to 20-7 with 2:15 left in the second quarter.
Just when Taft thought they had the momentum they needed to make a comeback, on second down and two from the Taft 33-yard line, Bacot found Remis behind Taft junior defensive back Christian Cole (1 tackle) in the end zone for a 33-yard scoring play. Thorell took care of the extra point kick and the score turned to 27-7 with 47.8 seconds left in the first half.
La Salle’s next score pretty much turned out the lights on Taft, and it came not too long after the Remis scoring catch. On first down and ten from midfield, Melia dropped back to his own 42-yard line and from there he threw a pass right to Lancer cornerback Pishon Nkanu at the Lancer 43-yard line. Nkanu gathered in the pilfered ball and then raced to the front of his team’s sideline for a virtually untouched 57-yard interception return for a score. Thorell connected on the extra point kick and the visitors had themselves an insurmountable 34-7 lead with 4.1 seconds left in the second quarter.
Early in the second quarter, the Lancers added to the Toreadors’ misery when Bacot found Villalobos down the middle at the Taft 45-yard line. The receiver then got to the Taft 43-yard line where he nudged aside Erglis, with the defensive back falling on his back near the 41-yard line. Villalobos then ran into the end zone where a tackle attempt by Bynum near the Taft one-yard line was too little, too late as the defensive back was dragged into the end zone. Villalobos’s 59-yard scoring play and the successful Thorell extra point kick took the score to 40-7 with 10:42 left in the third quarter.
Villalobos scored his second touchdown of the game when he caught a flip pass from Bacot at the Taft 34-yard line; then the athletic receiver ran to his right, where he found some open space, for an untouched 30-yard scoring play. Thorell took care of his last extra point kick of the night to bring the score to 48-7 with 2:52 left in the third quarter.
The last score of the night was provided by Del Toro. On Del Toro’s first carry of the night, he was tackled for a three-yard loss, but on his next carry he was determined to get into the end zone as he took a Melia handoff and ran to his right where he was met by Carter (Taft two-yard line) and then Villalobos (near the one-yard line), but those two ended up being dragged into the end zone by Del Toro for a four-yard scoring run. The two-point conversion play, which was a pass to wide receiver Zsavier Johnson (one catch for four yards), was no good, which left the final score at 48-13 near the 5:30 mark of the fourth quarter.
The use of a running clock to start the fourth quarter, five running plays, and one kneel-down by La Salle helped end the game mercifully for Taft.
Taft has a bye next week, but they’ll return to action on Friday, October 2nd, when they will host the Chatsworth Chancellors (3-1) for a 7:15 pm West Valley League game.