Gateway seniors cap high school career at East-West all-star game

By: Michael Love
Sunday, June 6, 2021 | 11:01 AM

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Gateway football seniors Jacques Taylor and Chamor Price teamed up one final time May 30 to cap their high school careers in the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association East-West Football Classic at Landis Field in Harrisburg.

While the West team didn’t come out on top — the East scored a 38-13 victory — Taylor said being a part of one more high school game before college was special.

“It felt good,” said Taylor, who started along the defensive line. “I love the contact during the play, just every part of football. It was a good opportunity to go up against guys from the other side of the state we wouldn’t normally see until the state playoffs.”

Taylor only played defense, but he also was an emergency option for the offensive line.

“I would’ve loved to have played on offense if they needed me, but the left tackle and the rest of the line really held it down well the whole game,” said Taylor, a Division II commit to Notre Dame College in Ohio.

The East-West Classic returned after a one-year hiatus because of the covid pandemic.

The afternoon of football consisted of two games — the big-school game involving Taylor, Price and others from Classes 4A to 6A and a small-school game for Classes A to 3A.

The East also won the small-school game, 17-10, but Central Valley star Ameer Dudley was named the West Team MVP after completing 5 of 9 passes for 77 yards and recording his team’s only touchdown with a 75-yard catch and run.

Price, in the big-school game, had several touches on offense and special teams. He recorded two carries and had a catch for 9 yards. He also returned two kickoffs for 43 yards.

“I had a lot of fun,” said Price, who will play this fall at Lackawanna College.

“It was great to play one more game with JT. The whole team came together quickly.”

With college football opportunities upcoming, both Taylor and Price have been keeping in shape and were ready for the grind of four quarters of football.

“I had never stopped thinking about football and staying ready with lifting and conditioning drills,” said Taylor, also kept active this spring as a new member of the Gateway volleyball team.

Taylor and Price also were mentored one final time by Gateway coach Don Holl who served as the West head coach.

“This was fantastic for the kids and also for the coaches who got to work with the players,” said Holl, a coaching veteran of several high school all-star contests.

“To get to play in a state-level all-star game is an honor and a privilege, but also it’s just a heckuva a lot of fun. On a personal level, it was great to be able to meet and get to know players from other teams and see up close what makes them so good. Now, I have a whole new bunch of guys who I will be rooting for at the college level.”

In addition to suiting up one more time with Price, Taylor got to join forces with future Notre Dame College teammate Jaiden Hill, a wide receiver and defensive back from Montour.

“We all knew each other in some form or another for a number of years through playing each other or on social media,” Taylor said. “We all had a general understanding of who each other was, but then we just put it all together and figured it all out to be ready to play a game.”

Taylor and Price were key components for Gateway in its truncated 2020 season. The Gators went 4-0 in the regular season and shut out Penn Hills in the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals before falling by one point, 20-19, to Peters Township in the semifinals at Gateway’s Antimarino Stadium.

Price earned Big East Conference first-team offensive honors as a multi-purpose athlete after catching 18 passes for 346 yards and four touchdowns. He also carried the ball five times for 153 yards.

Taylor was a first team pick at defensive end after recording 30 tackles, two sacks and an interception.

“We’ve known each other since we were little kids, and it’s always been fun being on the same field together,” Taylor said. “I’ve always been amazed at how fast Chamor is.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Gateway