Kyle Beaty dropped back to pass just five times against the Urbana Tigers Friday night at Dick Tharpe Field. The senior quarterback made those pass count, throwing for three touchdowns and 121 yards on four completions in Community’s dominant 56-0 Homecoming win.
Calen Taylor took just one handoff in the Big 12 contest. The running back wouldn’t need carries to find the end zone against Urbana, recording two scores on special teams before even touching the ball on offense.
Before the sun had set, Community’s stars were out of the lineup, with the Ironmen up 35-0 early in the second quarter.
It took just two plays from scrimmage for the Ironmen to light up the scoreboard, with Beaty connecting with Michael Mavec in tight coverage.
Mavec slipped a tackle and sprinted 42 yards for a touchdown, putting Community up 7-0 with 11:30 left in the first quarter.
The junior wideout barely had time to catch his breath before the Iron offense was back on the field.
Community’s defense stuffed the Tigers’ tailback behind the line of scrimmage, forcing a turnover deep in Urbana territory.
Beaty took advantage, finding Reed Hoover for a 29-yard touchdown strike to make it 14-0 at the 10:18 mark.
Urbana struggled to move the ball, punting from their own 35-yard line on the next possession. Taylor made them pay, returning the punt 66 yards for his first special teams touchdown of the season. With Will Castro’s extra point, the Ironmen extended the lead to 21-0 with 4:15 left in the first quarter.
Pinned deep in their own end zone, the Tigers were forced to punt again on the next drive. Taylor returned the kick 35 yards, breaking a tackle at the 5-yard line for his second touchdown of the night, pushing the lead to 28-0.
Beaty struck again early in the second quarter, this time finding Jalen Smith on a 27-yard screen pass. Smith broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage and, with a key block from Ivo Austin, dashed into the end zone to make it 34-0.
Community’s defense got in on the action, as Xavion Lashley intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown with 9:27 left in the half, extending the lead to 42-0.
A blocked punt by Austin gave backup quarterback Noah Gulley and the Ironmen reserves a short field inside Urbana’s 30. Gulley kept the ball on a 19-yard run for a score, and a two-point conversion made it 50-0.
Ryder Durdan, who took over at tailback in the second quarter, nearly got in on the scoring as time wound down in the half.  The senior was stopped just shy of scoring his first touchdown of the season when he was pulled down inside the 5-yard line as time expired.
After a quiet third quarter, Durdan found paydirt, capping the scoring with a 19-yard touchdown run to seal the 56-0 shutout.
Durdan led Community in rushing with 69 yards.
The undefeated Ironmen (3-0) now turn their attention to Kankakee, where they will face the undefeated Kays in what looks to be their toughest test of the season.