Central Catholic’s Aiden Taylor, area’s top rusher, is The Bee’s Football Player of the Year
Central Catholic running back Aiden Taylor didn’t expect to shoulder the majority of the Raiders’ offense this season, but when his running mate, Julian Lopez, went down with a knee injury in the second game of the season, Taylor took his game to another level.
The senior had one of the best five-game stretches of any Stanislaus District player. Taylor averaged 19 carries and 119 yards a game and scored 10 touchdowns.
“I didn’t really expect to have a year like I did with the yards and touchdowns,” Taylor said. “I thought I’d be splitting (time) a lot more with Julian but unfortunately, when he got hurt, I had to step up a little bit for the team and it just kind of took its course.”
That jump-started a dominant year that ended with a team-high 2,128 rushing yards and state-leading 38 touchdowns. Taylor averaged 141.9 rushing yards a game and ran for 100 or more yards in 11 games.
The Raiders’ run-first offense, led by Taylor, carried them to a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Championship and a CIF State Division 2-AA Northern California championship.
“To go out as a section champion and a NorCal champion, even to make it to state, means a lot,” Taylor said. “Not a lot of teams can do it. Throughout each week in playoffs, teams were losing and we were just able to keep it rolling until the last game.”
Taylor’s contributions to Central Catholic’s success earned him this year’s Bee’s Football Player of the Year honors.
If there’s a catchphrase associated with the word “pony,” chances are, Taylor has heard it.
He lives up to his “Ponyboy” nickname every time he steps on the field, running through, dragging and running around helpless defenders for an average of 7.1 yards a carry.
His season-long run of 71 yards came in the state championship against Mater Dei Catholic High School.
Taylor is versatile.
He caught passes out of the backfield — his 210 receiving yards were second on the team — and played linebacker, finishing second on the team in tackles with 62.
Off the field, Taylor describes himself as “outgoing.” He serves as the Associated Student Body vice president, allowing him to interact with not only the Central Catholic student body but ASB officers from other schools as well.
The team’s leading rusher can also be spotted in advanced dance, and taking art and agriculture classes.
Taylor will take a week or two off to let his body recover, then it is back to workouts before school to get ready for baseball season.
He batted .364 with 13 RBIs and scored 22 runs as the Raiders (16-6, 13-5 VOL) finished second in the Valley Oak League last season.
Taylor feels every activity he invests time in helps make him a more well-rounded person.
“They’re all different aspects in my life that have helped me be who I am.” Taylor said.
