TAFT TRIPPED UP BY TURNOVERS CRENSHAW WINS IN REMATCH CRENSHAW 21, TAFT 14.

Picking up exactly where it left off 9 1/2 months ago, Taft High of Woodland Hills had five turnovers and lost to Crenshaw 21-14 Friday in a nonleague City Section game at Taft.

In its final game of 2000, Taft had four turnovers and lost to top-seeded Crenshaw 36-25 in a City Championship quarterfinal.

Although most of the faces were different for both teams, the result was the same for the Toreadors.

Trailing 14-13, Crenshaw's Corey Hudson scored on a 15-yard run off left tackle on his only carry of the game to give the Cougars a 19-14 lead with 5:45 remaining. Brenton Anderson's two-point conversion catch provided the final margin of victory.

Unlike the Toreadors loss last November, Taft had many opportunities to pull out a victory. But Cary Dove, in his first varsity start, was picked off twice deep in Cougar territory on Taft's final two possessions.

After Crenshaw took a seven-point lead, Dove led Taft on 52-yard drive to the Cougar 22. But on 2-and-4, Crenshaw's Patrick Owens stepped in front of a pass intended for Noah Smith at the four-yard line with 3:32 remaining.

Two plays later, Taft's Chris Daniels pressured Crenshaw quarterback Eric Willcockson in the end zone and Willcockson's wounded duck ended up in the hands of a diving Steve Smith.

Steve Smith's third interception of the game gave Taft possession at the Crenshaw 14 with 2:40 remaining. But after running the width of the field to evade tacklers after receiving a sideline pass, Smith was dropped was for a 16-yard loss on the first down.

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Taft's Justin Tryon gains yardage during the Toreadors' season-opening loss to Crenshaw on Friday.

John Kennedy/Special to the Daily News