Jonathan Taylor breaks 2,000 yards as Salem slams Haddon Heights

  • 11/12 - 1:00 PM FootballFinal
    Haddon Heights 8
    Salem 50
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Jonathan Taylor needed 230 yards for 2,000 on the season and the Salem High School football team needed to erase the bad taste of a first-round playoff loss on its field a year ago.

Both achievements were accomplished with ease as Taylor ran for 242 yards on just 15 carries and the fourth-seeded Rams blasted No. 5 Haddon Heights, 50-8, in an NJSIAA South Jersey Group 1 quarterfinal on Saturday.

Salem advances to face top seed Woodbury, which the Rams defeated, 28-16, earlier in the season, in the semifinal next Saturday.

RESULTS: Saturday's playoff action

Taylor broke the 2,000-yard mark on a 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that put the Rams ahead, 44-8. He also scored on a 50-yard run on the opening series and an 85-yard run in the second quarter as he went into the half with 198 yards.

Taylor tied A.B. Brown for the school single-season rushing record with 2,012 yards and became the 18th player in South Jersey history to reach the milestone. The Wisconsin-bound back has two or three more games to play and the South Jersey rushing record of 2,510 yards set by former Glassboro and current Wisconsin back Corey Clement is in his sights.

“The tradition of running backs here is tremendous,” said Taylor. “To be the leading rusher is unimaginable. I’m honored and blessed to be among the elite.

“The first quarter I was focused on setting the tone, making sure we let them know we were here to play. Once the game started developing and the run game started opening up, I’d get on the headset to ask coach where I’m at (in relation to 2,000 yards), what needs to be done. Time was running short and I had to get it done.”

Zaire Jones also scored three times for Salem, but three different ways. He returned a fumble 65 yards for a touchdown, brought an interception back 56 yards for a score and added a 70-yard touchdown run.

“The fumble bounced right to me, there was nobody there and I just took off,” said Jones. “The interception I jumped the route, took off again and just out-ran everybody. The (run) my linemen had good blocks, had a hole for me.

“We feel we can score on both sides of the ball.”

Ramere Nock scored on a 55-yard interception return as the Rams scored three times on defense in taking a 38-8 lead into the half.

Haddon Heights’s lone score came on a 5-yard pass from Matt DiOrio to Tariq Miller to make it a 16-8 game in the second quarter. After recovering a Taylor fumble the Garnets drove to the 3-yard line, but Jamere Furbush broke through for a fourth-down sack and Taylor busted his 85-yard TD run on the next play.

“It’s like Thunder and Lightning,” said Salem coach Montrey Wright. “Zaire is the lightning, JT is the thunder. JT is going to bring it, and Zaire is going to feed off it and finish the rest.”

Salem started last season 7-0, but then lost its final game of the regular season and was blown out as the No. 1 seed by Glassboro, 35-14, in the first round of the playoffs.

The Rams have reversed their fortunes this year, picking up steam at the right time. After a 1-2 start, Salem has ripped off six straight.

"Last year was a big focus, those guys had a bad taste in their mouth," said Wright. "This year these guys came out and executed, which we didn't do last year. Last year taught us a lot."

Bill Evans can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com or by leaving a note in the comments below. Follow him on Twitter @BEvansSports. Find the NJ.com High School Football page on Facebook by following this link.

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