STARR REPORT: TAFT TITLE; TOREADORS STUN BANNING TO WIN CITY CHAMPIONSHIP : TAFT 41, BANNING 29.

Byline: Chris Branam Daily News Staff Writer

The job was finally finished, three years after it began.

The Taft High football team, stung by the memories of two consecutive losses in the City Section championship game, made the third time a charm with a 41-29 upset of Banning Friday night at the L.A. Coliseum.

It was a brilliant offensive display by the Toreadors, who finished 12-2 on the season. They piled up 486 yards, including 291 passing by Brandon Hance. Taft shocked Banning (10-4) with big plays; it scored on touchdowns of 39, 38, 67 and 76 yards.

Hance had his best game of the season. He completed 16 of 22 passes and threw 4 touchdowns. He was complemented by senior tailback Marquis Brignac, who gained 189 yards and shifted the momentum in the third quarter with a 76-yard scoring run.

Even though Taft held the lead the entire game, the Toreadors caught a break late in the third quarter when Banning hurt itself with an ill-timed penalty.

The Pilots' Mike Cockrell returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown that would have cut the Taft lead to 34-27. But a clipping penalty nullified the touchdown. Taft punted again with 1:50 left in the third.

The Toreadors took a 20-7 halftime lead by taking advantage of two costly Banning turnovers, containing Chris Howard and riding the hot hand of Hance, a junior transfer from Notre Dame.

Howard, who entered the game with 2,303 yards rushing, had just 63 on 16 carries in the first half. He was a workhorse early on, getting the ball on 10 of the Pilots' 13 plays in the first quarter.

Hance was a different story. He completed seven passes in a row at one point and threw two long touchdowns to Ronald Andrews.

Before the game, Banning coach Chris Gutierrez said he thought the Pilots players looked antsy. Those nerves came to the surface early on when fullback Mike Limosneros fumbled on Banning's opening drive. Taft got the ball at the Pilots' 49.

Ten plays later, the Toreadors gambled on fourth-and-inches from the 2 and Hance scored on a sneak with 4:55 left in the first quarter.

Banning's second possession also ended on a turnover: Andrews intercepted Mike Garrison in the end zone.

Andrews' big night was just beginning. He scored on a 39-yard pass from Hance with 7:23 left in the second quarter to gave Taft a 13-0 lead. Andrews, a senior, was wide open on the play, and the Taft coaches noticed.

Andrews scored on the same play with 1:54 left in the half, and Richard Pleosch's extra point gave Taft a surprising 20-0 lead.

Brignac set up the touchdown with a 31-yard run. He had 67 yards on eight carries in the first half, where Taft racked up 205 yards.

The Pilots broke through less than a minute later when Howard capped a five-play, 65-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.

The Toreadors' lead at halftime was almost a total reversal of the teams' first game, when Banning took a 19-0 lead into the second half.

Taft continued to dominate into the second half. Lawrence Wallace took a screen pass from Hance and raced 67 yards for a touchdown that gave Taft a 27-7 lead with 10:50 left in the third quarter.