Taylor, Williamstown mates eager for title

There are people around the Williamstown football program who have waited years and years for Friday night.

Julian Taylor has waited three months.

But Taylor, a senior defensive end, said he feels the same urgency as his veteran teammates as well as those longtime coaches and supporters who have lived through season after season of playoff frustration.

"We have all the same perspective because we're all a family," Taylor said.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Taylor has helped Williamstown (11-0), the No. 1 team in The Inquirer's South Jersey rankings, reach the South Jersey Group 5 championship game.

The Braves, who had won just one playoff game in their history before this season, will face Southern Regional (9-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at Rowan University.

A victory would cap a long and winding road to the top for the Braves.

It also would cap a dream season for Taylor.

"It's been kind of overwhelming," Taylor said of the Braves' success in his first and only season in the program.

Taylor moved to Williamstown in April from Abington, Pa. He played his first three seasons for Abington High School.

Taylor said he knew Williamstown linebacker Buddy Brown because they had played together on a 7-on-7 team one summer. He didn't know the rest of the Braves.

"It didn't matter. Everybody was open and let me in," Taylor said.

Taylor made an immediate impact. He leads the team with 12 sacks. He has made 44 tackles and recovered two fumbles.

"He fit right in," Williamstown coach Frank Fucetola said. "He has been right there with our guys."

In a 20-12 victory over Atlantic City in the South Jersey Group 5 semifinals last Friday, Taylor registered two sacks and kept consistent pressure on Vikings quarterback Jarren McBryde.

"That felt good," Taylor said. "You want to make big plays for the team at big times."

Earlier this week, Taylor committed to the University of Massachusetts on a football scholarship. The Minutemen are members of the Mid-American Conference.

"I liked everything about it - the education, coaching staff, the location," said Taylor, who plans to major in business.

Friday night will mark a special event for the Braves. The program has been striving for a sectional championship for years.

Taylor has a little different slant. All he has known at Williamstown is winning - in the regular season, and in the playoffs, too.

But he knows how much a title would mean to the program.

"All the guys talked about from the beginning was winning a championship," Taylor said. "I know how much it means to them. That's how much it means to me, too. We're all in this together."