Tehachapi at Taft Wildcats
September 6, 2019
Warrior quarterback Max Meza scrambles for yardage against Taft High Friday night in Taft. The Wildcats walloped the Warriors 34-12
for their first win against Tehachapi since 2006. Tehachapi will travel to Bakersfield this Friday night to play the Highland High Acots.
(Photo by Tom Shea, www.thswarriors.com.)
Posted by Corey Costelloe, The Tehachapi News, on September 7, 2019. Warriors Take 34-12 Loss To Taft
TAFT — The offense stalled, the defense struggled, and the lights literally went out on the Tehachapi Warriors Friday night in Taft (2-1) as Tehachapi dropped to 0-3
following a 34-12 loss to the Wildcats at Martin Memorial Stadium.
Before the first snap of the second half with Tehachapi trailing 21-6, the stadium lights went dark, causing a 20-minute delay — unfortunately for Tehachapi they came
back on and Taft added two more touchdowns to claim their first win over the Warriors since 2006.
Tehachapi moved the ball but struggled putting points on the board with several drives stalling inside the Taft 25-yard line,and those missed opportunities were enough to allow the Wildcats to move the ball themselves both on the ground and in the air for big plays and a home victory. The Warriors scored first in the contest with Trent Adams intercepting a Taft pass on the Tehachapi 15-yard line, then on offense he was on the receiving end of a 75-yard Max Meza touchdown pass to give Tehachapi a 6-0 lead.
Taft would then take control, first scoring on a two-yard run touchdown run by Chad Berry that was set up following a 4th and 15 conversion by the Wildcats in Tehachapi territory. Big plays would be a mainstay of the Taft offense as on the following possession Berry scored on a 27-yard sweep before Taft added one more score in the half’s final minute as Garrett Jeffries connected with Jacob Ellis for a 90-yard scored and a 21-6 halftime lead.
Following the light outage in the second half, Tehachapi had a 10-play drive stall at the Taft 10-yard line and a similar situation occur the following position as the Wildcat secondary made several touchdown-saving pass deflections to hold the Warriors without points in the red zone once again. Taft then combined a big play from their own 15-yard line with a Tehachapi facemask to move the ball to the Warriors 5-yard line before Bryce Veach punched in the score to give Taft a 28-6 lead. The Wildcats then added another big play as Berry scored on a 60-yard run to put Taft up 34-6 following a missed two-point conversion.
Tehachapi’s Meza and Adams would connect once again on a 76-yard touchdown pass for the Warriors’ final score of the evening with 6:46 left. Tehachapi also had a
field goal blocked late in the third quarter and time expired as they marched to the Taft five-yard line.
Along with the offenses’ inability to convert scoring opportunities, the defensive woes continued for Tehachapi, who have now allowed their
opponents 128 points in the first three games of the season.
The Warriors, still seeking their first win of the season, continue play on the road at Highland on Sept. 13. The Scots (2-1) fell 28-16 at Robert F. Kennedy in Delano on Friday night.
Junior Varsity: Taft 7, Tehachapi 6
The Braves had plenty of opportunities in the red zone as well but came away with only one touchdown and a missed extra point as Taft scored late on a long
touchdown pass to secure the home win. Tehachapi (0-3) will be at Highland on Friday night.
Freshmen: Tehachapi 34, Arvin 0
Hosting Arvin on Thursday, Sept. 5, as Taft does not have a freshmen team, Tehachapi rolled to their second win of the season over the Bears. The Indians will be back
on the same schedule this week as their upper-level counterparts as they travel to Highland Thursday afternoon.
Warrior defenders try to run down a Taft runner in varsity action Friday night in Taft. The Taft defeated the Warriors
for the first time since 2006, 34-12. Tehachapi will travel to Bakersfield this Friday night to play the Highland High Acots.
(Photo by Doug Keeler, Midway Driller.)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Tehachapi 6 0 0 6 12 Taft 7 14 7 6 34
Tehachapi vs Taft Statisics
THS Taft First Downs Rushes-Yards 23-95 Passing Yards 323 Comp-Att-Int 21-40-1 Total Yards 418 Punts 4-37.0 Penalties
Individual Statistics:
RUSHING—Tehachapi: Meza 11-52, Smith 3-28, Adams 1-0, King 4-6, Blatt 4-9.
Taft: .
PASSING—Tehachapi: Meza 21-40-1. Taft: 0-0-0.
RECEIVING—Tehachapi: Adams 7-188, Batson 6-64, O'brien 4-41, King 2-18, Lugo 1-7, Davis 1-5.
Taft: .
Varsity Records: Tehachapi 0-3 (0-0 SYL). Taft 2-1 (0-0 SSL).
Braves 06 Taft JV's 07
Indians 34 Arvin Frosh 00
