UPLAND, Ind. -- With one minute remaining in the first half of Saturday's game between Notre Dame and Taylor (Ind.), the Falcons had just scored and found themselves down by just one point in a 7-6 tussle on the road. From that point on, including a botched extra point returned all the way, it was mostly downhill for NDC, which lost its third straight game by a final score of 40-13.

NDC penalties and turnovers and a high-powered Taylor offense paved the way for the host Trojans to claim the big win at Jim Wheeler Memorial Stadium in Central Indiana. The Falcons committed four turnovers, and Taylor took advantage, rolling up 23 first downs 465 total yards.

Taylor quarterback Shaun Addison, an Ohio native (Lebanon), threw for 310 yards on a 20-for-32 afternoon. The Trojans scored one TD through the air, two on the ground, one on special teams and one on defense in running their season record to 2-2.

Notre Dame was led by quarterback #James Flowers# (216 yards passing in his first career start), wide receiver #Derrick Paster# (eight catches, 124 yards) and running back #Pedro Powell# (21 carries, 125 yards).

“We played well early on,” said Head Coach #Adam Howard#, “and you have to tip your hat to Taylor -- they're a well-coached and talented team. But we hurt ourselves at times. We need to grow from this and play with focus for 60 minutes.”

The first quarter was evenly played, with both teams' best drives ending on red-zone interceptions. Strong safety #Derrick Smith# stepped in on a fourth-and-long attempt by Addison for NDC's interception, which came at the 3:48-mark.

Two minutes later, with the ball spotted near midfield, Notre Dame failed to convert on a fake punt. But the Falcon defense held strong in its own territory, keeping the Trojans off the scoreboard.

Both Taylor and Notre Dame would be kept off the scoreboard until the 3:25-mark in the second quarter, when running back Taylor Johnson powered in from the three to cap off a 12-play, 95-yard drive that ate up 5:21 on the clock. Johnson had 38 rushing yards on 13 carries in the opening half.

Notre Dame bounced back from that score with a big drive of their own, when Flowers hit Derrick Paster with a perfectly thrown bomb down the right sideline. What was a 49-yard play set up a 14-yard TD pass from Flowers to #Matt Preston# two plays later.

But just when it seemed the Falcons had wrested away the game's momentum with a last-minute touchdown, the Trojans stole it back in dramatic fashion. Taylor, not Notre Dame, scored a two-point conversion off the Preston TD, when a botched snap was returned the length of the field by TU's Marcellus Burton. That gave the host Trojans a 9-7 lead and seemed to take the air out of NDC's sails.

With 27 ticks remaining in the first half, the ensuing kickoff was returned 84 yards for a touchdown by Trenton Schmale. Taylor converted on the extra point to take a 16-6 lead into halftime. The home squad rolled up 247 yards of offense in the first half, with Shaun Addison going 15-of-25 for 204 yards in the air. The Trojans dominated first-half time of possession with nearly 18 minutes (17:50) on their side of the ledger.

Taylor extended its lead to 17 points (23-6) on their first drive of the second half, when Addison hit Magnuson in stride for a 35-yard touchdown strike. The Trojans added a rushing TD (Corey Anderson, four yards) at the tail end of the third to go up, 30-6. For all of its aerial exploits in the first half, Taylor was equally as impressive on the ground in the second half. Anderson's four-yard dash to paydirt at the 2:26-mark in the third, was part of a 94-yard ground-game performance in the second.

In the fourth, Taylor added 10 points on a 22-yard field goal by placekicker Cameron Parker and an 80-yard interception return by Brandon Onuselogu.

NDC got on the board for a second time in the game on a bruising 10-yard TD run by Pedro Powell. That touchdown came on a 56-yard drive, with the Falcons' powerful back running for all 56 yards over four carries.

For a fifth straight game, NDC's offense produced more yards in total offense than they had in the previous week. The Falcons ran for 66 yards and threw for another 216 in producing 282 total yards. Safety #Bo Grunder# was Notre Dame's leading tackler on the afternoon -- he racked up a game-high 10 stops.