#1 Team on National T.V.

[smazza]

the state of florida produces plenty of qbs

maybe usf will land one someday

[E.T.]

Published Wednesday, November 23, 2005

PAIR OF ACES

Rainey, Taylor Give Top-Ranked 'Naughts a Winning Hand

By Roy Fuoco

The Ledger

LAKELAND

This has been the plan all along: Put Chris Rainey and Jamar Taylor in the Lakeland backfield together and dare opponents to try to stop them.

In Rainey, Lakeland has a speedy running back -- a state finalist in the 100 with 4.3 speed (in the 40) -- who leaves fans on the edge of their seats in anticipation of a long run every time he touches the ball.

In Taylor, Lakeland has a running back with fullback power -just watch him carry the pile 10 yards without going down -- and tailback speed. Is 4.4 speed fast enough for you?

Together, they've been billed as an unstoppable force and one of best running-back tandems the county as ever seen. They have more than lived up to that hype as they, indeed, have been unstoppable in leading a potent offense for the undefeated and No. 1-ranked Dreadnaughts.

Numbers don't lie. They have combined for 2,160 yards rushing and 43 touchdowns this season. Load up to stop Taylor on the fullback dive, and there's Rainey speeding around the outside for 70 yards.

Focus on stopping the bigplays of Rainey, and there's Taylor just hurting defenders with hard runs up the middle, breaking off big runs of his own in the process.

Pick your poison. "As the season has gone on, they've seen our offense isn't going to feature any one player," Lakeland coach Bill Castle said. "They've really been team-oriented instead of focusing on individual statistics. They know statistics aren't going to get you to the next level."

Taylor, who is also a standout baseball player, has been key to the relationship. He was the starting tailback as a freshman, having the edge because he was a bigger than Rainey. Last year, he moved to starting linebacker because the Dreadnaughts needed him there.

He never sulked and never got jealous of Rainey.

"I enjoyed it," Taylor said. "There were tough times in learning a new thing because I was used to carrying the ball all my life, but I got over it. I liked it. It was fun."

Rainey, who plays basketball and excels in track, flourished in his first year as a starter. He led the county in rushing with 1,780 yards rushing, averaging more than 12.0 yards per carry, and he scored 28 touchdowns.

With Steve Chancey having graduated, Taylor moved back to the offense at fullback, and the duo have complemented each other.

Castle said Taylor has really helped his recruiting prospects with his blocking ability, which has improved tremendously over the latter half of the season. He can also run, of course.

Taylor has had more carries with 148 rushes for 932 yards and 22 touchdowns. Rainey remains the big-play back with 1,228 yards on just 113 carries. He has scored 21 touchdowns combined rushing and receiving, including two punt returns and one return of a blocked punt.

Rainey and Taylor have become a force in the tradition of other backfields that Lakeland has had -- Laconia Worlds and Rod Smart, Keith Price and Dwayne Gallishaw and Laroni Gallishaw and Johnny Mack.

Don't ask Castle which tandom was the best.

"I don't go there," he said. "We've been fortunate to have had a bunch. They (Rainey and Taylor) are as good as any we've had."