Tehachapi News

Eagles grounded

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Mountain Football used a dominating first half and a punishing ground game to easily dispatch Bakersfield Christian last week at home, 40-12.

Trying to recover over in-game miscues over Shafter the week before, the Warriors righted the ship in all phases to bolt to a 34-0 lead, not needing a single pass attempt the entire night.

“We ran off our bad game (against Shafter) in practice this past week and came out ready to go,” said Warrior running back Jesse Olofson. “The coaches have been really stressing it to us about turning it around and playing like a championship team.”

Olofson torched the Eagles for 246 yards on 13 carries, an average of 19 yards a carry. The talented back also had four touchdowns, with his longest of the night coming on a 78 yard jaunt in the third quarter.

“We were happy with the start. It was a good win for us and everyone got to play,” said head coach Steve Denman. “It comes down to execution and they answered the call. Everyone contributed.”

Tehachapi (6-1; 2-0 SSL) also had strong performances in the ground attack from Phil Rhodes and Michael Lowder, who combined for 142 yards on 11 carries, with each running for touchdowns and helping the Warriors to 401 rushing yards overall.

The Warrior defense forced eight punts, relinquishing only one offensive touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Tehachapi limited the Eagles to a meager 138 yards overall, 85 in passing and 56 on the ground, with Lowder also recovering a fumble on special teams.

Up next for Tehachapi is a league championship showdown with Taft (6-1; 2-0 SSL), who come to the mountain this Friday night fresh off a 42-0 victory over Wasco this past week. The game will start at 7:30 p.m.
 
Junior Varsity

Wyatt Vance was the one-man show for the Braves on offense this past week, scoring five touchdowns and a combined 127 yards on the ground and air to help Tehachapi to a 33-13 drubbing over Bakersfield Christian.

Jorge Garcia also had a strong game with 109 yards on 20 carries, while Brian Castaneda had 33 yards rushing and 18 yards passing. Quarterback Bobby Howell completed three passes for 59 yards and a touchdown on the afternoon.

Vance had touchdown runs of three, six, 28, and 34 yards and a pass completion score of 41 yards, with 86 yards on nine carries in the ground game.

On defense for Tehachapi (5-2; 2-0 SSL), David Lara and Cody Hall had a team leading six tackles each, while Alex Barnes and Ian Brown had four tackles each. Tyron Johnson had an interception, while Wyatt Vance and Jack Blewett had sacks.
 
Freshmen

The Indians racked up 274 yards of offense en route to a 42-12 thrashing over Bakersfield Christian last Thursday.

Ryle Snowder had 90 yards and two touchdowns on four carries, while Lucas Jochem had 71 yards and a score and Justin Wilson 40 yards and a touchdown.

Also scoring for Tehachapi were Dalton Scaggs and Barry Jones, combining for 37 yards on nine carries.

On defense, Tehachapi (3-4; 2-0 SSL) was led by Ricky Torres with seven tackles, while Justin Wilson, Luis Lopez, Andrew Morgana, Andrew Pillar and Jonathan Nye had three tackles apiece.

Calvin Herman, Justin Wilson and Andrew Garber had quarterback sacks, while Austin Riddle had a fumble recovery. Also performing well on defense was Andrew Pillar with a blocked punt and Jonathan Nye, Robert Moore and Barry Jones with interceptions.