Taylor Euler saw Corey Bacon raise his hand in the air, and Euler knew exactly what to do.
Bacon was giving his best friend and quarterback the sign: Hey, throw it to me.
With Emporia High leading Washburn Rural 7-0 in the second quarter and facing a third-and-2 at midfield last Friday, Euler had taken the snap from center and had rolled out to his right. At first he saw Harrison Stone on an underneath route and almost threw it to him.
Then he saw Bacon’s hand flash in the air, and that’s when Euler let the ball fly.
“I was getting ready to throw it to Harry, and then I looked up at the second level, and ... Corey raised his hand and he pointed, and that told me he was going to go a little bit deeper.
“I saw Corey put that hand up, and I chucked it up there.”
About 20 yards downfield, Bacon was sprinting toward the sideline and had his man beaten. Euler’s pass land just over the outstretched arms of Rural’s Tyler Swope, who had gone for the interception.
Bacon hauled in the pass and did the rest, turning upfield and racing the remaining 30 or so yards into the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown reception that helped put Emporia up 14-0.
That one big play was part of a breakout night at receiver for Bacon, who also plays safety on defense for the Spartans. Bacon piled up 87 receiving yards on four catches in Emporia’s 35-0 victory over its rival.
“That was definitely a lot of fun,” Bacon said. “Everybody was just doing their job. I didn’t really have to do much except for what I was told.”
Perhaps Bacon’s night was to be expected, seeing as how he has been best friends with his quarterback since the two started playing tackle football back in fifth grade.
“We know each other pretty well, and that chemistry helps out a lot,” Bacon said of Euler. “It’s honestly just like playing backyard football and just carrying it over into a game.”
The friendship the two have with each other off the football field has translated into an unwritten communication on it. Just like Bacon’s 50-yard touchdown catch-and-run against Rural, the two need little more than the wave of a hand to know what the other is going to do.
“We have that special connection, like we know what each other’s thinking,” Euler said. “You really don’t have to think about it. You don’t have to think twice about throwing the ball to Corey because you know he’ll go up and get it or give it his best effort to get the ball at any time.
“I think that was one of the games (against Rural) where he showed all of what he can do.”
For the EHS coaches, Bacon’s big night had been coming, it was only a matter of when.
Bacon had shown the Spartans coaches enough in practice and in games to know that they must better utilize the sure-handed junior, a point that was reaffirmed by his four-catch night against the Junior Blues. During last year’s 6-3 season, no EHS receiver caught more than two passes in one game.
“He contributed a lot like we had hoped that he would,” EHS coach Bill Lowe said of Bacon’s game against Rural. “We were really hoping he could contribute more, and we put him in position last week to do that. We just want him to make plays.”
It’s a role Bacon has no problem accepting.
“Usually, we’re a running team, but the last game, we kind of broke out the passing more than usual, and that was a little different for us,” he said. “But it seemed to work, so we’ll keep doing it. I like it — it’s fun to mix it up.”
As the Spartans prepare to take on Topeka West this Friday, Bacon could continue to see his number called more on offense, especially with EHS appearing to look slightly more to the pass this season. He’ll also be expected to continue to make plays on defense, meaning Spartans fans could hear Bacon’s name quite a bit the rest of the season.
“We’d like to have him more involved on both sides of the ball because he’s such a good athlete,” Lowe said.
One thing’s for sure — when the Spartans are on offense, Bacon knows he’s got a friend in the EHS backfield looking his way.
“I have all the confidence in the world in Corey and that he’ll do anything to get that ball,” Euler said. “I don’t have to think twice about it.”