Tehachapi News

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In one of their most impressive displays of balance this season, Mountain Football took to both the ground and the air to upend no.3 seeded Golden Valley last Friday night in Bakersfield, 48-24.

After two stalled drives to start the game, momentum shifted the Warriors direction in a big way when Austin Herman intercepted a pass deep in Golden Valley territory, opening the flood gates that eventually led to seven touchdowns on Tehachapi’s next eight drives.

Golden Valley (6-5) could not find an answer for shifty back Adam Mullen, who finished with four touchdowns, 169 yards on 20 carries and a 67 yard catch-and-score from Kurtis Knudson. Josh Strauss also had a stellar night on the ground, taking 18 attempts for 132 yards and Tehachapi’s first score. Garrett Coontz provided the third touchdown for the Warriors, with Knudson connecting to the open wide-out in the flat for a 63-yard touchdown just before the half.

The Tehachapi wing-t offensive line helped account for 489 yards overall, helping Knudson fire for 156 yards on three completions and two scores, and 333 yards rushing.

The Warrior defense terrorized Golden Valley into three interceptions by Austin Herman, Adam Mullen and Garrett Coontz, while also recovering two fumbles.
In special teams, kicking standout Jake Reimer went six-for-six on extra point tries. Reimer is second in the section on kickoff yardage, 11th in the section on kick-scoring, and fifth in the central section in extra points so far on the season.

Up next for Tehachapi (8-4) is a date with the Division III playoff no.2 seed Oakhurst-Yosemite (8-3), who upended Dinuba 31-24 last week. The last time the Warriors faced off with the Badgers was the 2003 CIF championship, which Tehachapi won, 14-10.

The game will start at 7pm. For directions to Yosemite High School, log on to wwww.thswarriors.com.