Apparently, the Valley did not hear the last of former Harlingen South running back Jaedon Taylor.
On Wednesday, Lyford Superintendent Eduardo Infante confirmed through Lyford athletic director/head football coach Jaime Infante that Taylor, who was denied earlier this year a petition to play football at Harlingen High, is enrolled at Lyford High School. Jaime Infante said that Taylor could “possibly” suit up against Brownsville St. Joseph this Friday if everything checks out with the University Interscholastic League.
“He enrolled on Monday and everything checks out with him,” Jaime Infante said. “He lives in the enrollment zone, his grades are in order and we filled out the paperwork with the UIL to start the due process of getting him on the field.”
Jaime Infante went on to say that he was unfamiliar with Taylor’s past and had no idea prior to just recently that he had been denied the opportunity to play at Harlingen High.
“Until I spoke to him this week, I had never heard of him (Taylor),” Coach Infante said. “I do remember hearing about a kid in Harlingen that was going thought some issues with playing football but I didn’t know it was him at first.
“As far as I’m concerned, he checks out here and that’s all that matters to me. What happened before was none of my business.”
Taylor’s journey began shortly after the 2013 football season when Taylor transferred to Harlingen High from Harlingen South after his family moved. He had wanted to play his senior season for the Cardinals this fall.
Taylor’s mother, Mary, said she moved her family based on financial situations and that it had nothing to do with football. However, in January the District 32-5A Executive Committee disagreed and denied Taylor’s request to play football by a unanimous 7-0 vote. At an appeal hearing in February, the DEC again unanimously voted against Taylor and upheld the original decision.
Taylor’s fate fell into the hands of the UIL State Executive Committee in Austin and, unfortunately, the UIL also denied his appeal to play for the Cardinals because it too felt the move to HHS was strictly made for athletic purposes.
After the UIL handed down it’s decision, Taylor reportedly moved to Tennessee and was going to play somewhere there. How or why he decided to move back to Lyford is unclear at this point. The bottom line is he’s back in the Valley and, if all goes well, he’ll find himself in a Bulldogs uniform soon.
Taylor, thought by some to be a Division I prospect, had a solid junior season at Harlingen South. He was named District 32-5A’s Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for a league-best 1,467 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Lyford hosts St. Joseph this Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Bulldogs enter the game 0-1 after losing their season opener last Friday to La Villa.