Taft bounced from conference playoff picture

Taft headed into its game against Amundsen on Oct. 10 with an undefeated record in the Big Shoulders Conference, but the Eagles lost a shot at the conference title after coming out on the wrong end of a 9-6 heartbreaker -- and they never seemed to recover from that loss.

The season came to a painful end for Taft on Saturday as the Eagles were bounced from the Chicago Conference playoffs by dropping a 22-6 decision to Tilden at Lane Stadium.

"We didn't have the season we wanted to have, and going out on a three-game losing streak doesn't really help," said Taft head coach Matthew Walsh. "We did some real good things early in the season but after the Amundsen game we could never find our way back."

Taft, which still finished second in conference, actually took a 6-0 lead against the Blue Devils courtesy of an 11-yard touchdown run by Tony Rialmo on the first possession of the game. But the snap on the point-after attempt was bobbled and the Eagles (5-4) had to settle for a 6-0 lead with 8:50 to play in the first quarter.

Things didn't look too bad for Taft with a 6-0 lead at halftime, but it was all Tilden after that as the Blue Devils managed to score three touchdowns and convert two-of-three two-point conversions.

The Eagles were not helped out by a back injury to senior quarterback Dominik Kuraszkiewicz, which knocked him out for the second half of the game.

"Tilden has some really good athletes and they beat us a couple of times deep down field, and that was really the difference," Walsh said. "Losing Dominik hurts a lot because he's been the starting quarterback all season. He understands the offense and makes good audibles."

Kuraszkiewicz finished the game completing 9-of-13 passes for 95 yards. His replacement, sophomore Mike Shewchuk, finished the game and was 3-of-7 for 49 yards.

"We just didn't come out ready to play," Kuraszkiewicz said. "It was a heartbreaking loss. They came more ready to play than us and played a better game than us."

Zach Cunningham led the Eagles' ground attack with 56 yards rushing on 18 carries. Jeff Feaster had three catches for 44 yards and Roy Norman had nine tackles, including three for losses.

One reason for Taft's late-season slide was injuries. The Eagles lost star wide-out Anthony Hardeman after he suffered a broken humerus midway through the season. Taft also spent the whole season without starting lineman and linebacker Nick Prodanic.

While the Eagles still finished above .500, it was hard for the team to handle an early exit from the playoffs.

"Overall, it was fun and we worked real hard this year," Kuraszkiewicz said. "All the practice was well worth it, but it ended so quickly. We weren't expecting to lose in the first round. I'm lucky that I got to play with such a good group of receivers. I did an all right job but I think I could have been more effective at the end of the season. I don't know if it was me or just us as a group."

Kuraszkiewicz hopes to continue his football career in college. Right now, he's looking at different Division III schools for opportunities.

As for Taft, the Eagles will lose 19 seniors to graduation, including Cunningham, Feaster, Kuraszkiewicz, Norman, Prodanic and Rialmo -- as well as Gerardo Bringas, Karl Cash, Mark Dryndrozyk, Mariusz Dwornikowski, Dallas Englehart, Tacorri Epinger, Nick Johnson, Ferry Mendoza, Greg Mucia, Phillip Quattrocchi, Vince Santucci, Gerardo Silvestre and Milos Vukovic.