Liam Taylor is leaving a football career behind on an unforgettable high note, writes Joseph Santoliquito for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Taylor played his last football game on Thanksgiving Day for the Haverford High Fords against Upper Darby, where he broke the all-time Delaware County rushing record.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound senior tailback finished with 130 yards rushing on 33 carried in the 10-7 victory against Upper Darby.
The record had been held by Cardinal O’Hara’s Kevin Jones, a 2004 NFL first-round draft choice.
Several colleges noticed Taylor’s football prowess, but he opted not to play football beyond the Thanksgiving game.
He is, Taylor admits, saying goodbye to a part of himself.
“I have been playing football for 10 years, since I was in second grade. When I think about it, other than going to school for 12 years, it is the longest thing I have ever done in my life,” he said.
Taylor needed 79 yards on Thursday to break Jones’s record of 5,790 yards. Taylor came into the game with 5,712 career yards.
He had already set the single-season Delaware County record when he rushed for 3,006 yards last season as a junior.
Read about Liam Taylor’s football career and why he decided to stop playing in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
