Arvin Bears at Tehachapi
Friday, October 29, 2004
Lang's Interception Helps Tehachapi
Seal 35-28 Win Over Arvin
TEHACHAPI --Lance Lang had an idea what was coming.
The Tehachapi High linebacker was tipped off by teammate Mike Faulkner what to look for. "Mike Faulkner was blitzing," Lang said. "He told me to watch the middle. I started to flow over there and I picked it off."
Lang's interception of Arvin quarterback Jose Tamayo with a minute left helped to preserve Tehachapi's 35-28 South Sequoia League home victory on Friday night.
Tehachapi (4-4 overall, 2-1 SSL) used a punishing running attack and a stout defense to take a 35-14 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter, but needed two late interceptions to hold on.
"We're happy to get the win," Tehachapi coach Steve Denman said. "Arvin's a heck of a football team. They kept coming at us and coming at us."
Arvin (6-2 overall, 2-1 SSL) scored 14 straight points and pulled within 35-28 on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Tamayo to Edgar Sanchez with 3:15 to play.
Sanchez found an opening in the secondary and kicked the pylon in the front of the left corner of the end zone as he was going out of bounds.
Tehachapi returned a squib kickoff to the Arvin 41, but Faulkner was stopped inches short of a first down on a fourth-and-2 run at the 31 with 2:10 left, giving Arvin one last shot.
The Bears drove to their own 47 before Lang's pick sealed the Tehachapi victory.
"It's Mountain Football," Arvin coach Edgar Mares said. "We knew they were going to be tough up here."
Tehachapi's Mike Barboa caught a 25-yard TD pass from quarterback Tyler Hansen while falling backward in the back of the end zone to give the Warriors a 35-14 advantage with five minutes left in the third quarter. It took awhile, but the score ended up being the game winner.
"I just had to do it for the team," Barboa said of his catch. "Coach sent me in."
Hansen's two completions out of five attempts both went for touchdowns, totalling 41 yards.
But the Warriors did most of their damage on the ground.
Tehachapi rushed for 324 yards, including Sean Finley's game-high 171 yards on 29 carries.
But equally important was the Warriors' defense, which held Arvin back Hector Velasquez in check.
Velasquez entered the game with 893 rushing yards and 11 TDs through seven games. He was held to 55 yards on 13 carries on Friday, including just seven yards on four first-half carries.
Tamayo completed 11 of 19 passes for 237 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. He also scored on a 1-yard run to pull the Bears within 35-21 at the end of the third quarter.
Tehachapi scored touchdowns on three straight second-quarter drives to take a 28-14 halftime lead.
Arvin's Angel Pineda scored on a 6-yard pitch. He ran to the left corner of the end zone and then followed it up with a nearly identical two-point run to give the Bears a 14-7 lead a minute into the second quarter.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Arvin | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Tehachapi | 7 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
Arv -- Venegas 32 pass from J. Tamayo (kick failed)
Teh -- Faulkner 2 run (Wulf kick)
2nd Quarter
Arv -- Pineda 6 run (Pineda run)
Teh -- Haycock 69 run (Wulf kick)
Teh -- Faulkner 2 run (Wulf kick)
Teh -- Muro 16 pass from Hansen (Wulf kick)
3rd Quarter
Teh -- Barboa 25 pass from Hansen (Wulf kick)
Arv -- J. Tamayo 1 run (Pineda kick)
4th Quarter
Arv -- E. Sanchez 35 pass from J. Tamayo (Pineda kick)
| AHS | THS | |
| First Downs | 14 | 13 |
| Rushes-Yards | 24-115 | 51-320 |
| Passing Yards | 237 | 41 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 11-19-2 | 2-5-0 |
| Total Yards | 352 | 361 |
| Punts | 3-26.0 | 0-00.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Penalties | 5-30 | 9-88 |
Individual Statistics:
Rushing--Arvin: Velasquez 13-55, J. Tamayo 8-41, Pineda 3-19. Tehachapi: Finley 29-171, Haycock 8-89, Gracian 8-47, Faulkner 6-13.
Passing--Arvin: J. Tamayo 11-19-2-237. Tehachapi: Hansen 2-5-0-41.
Receiving--Arvin: Pineda 5-104, E. Sanchez 2-61, Venegas 1-32, Velasquez 1-25. Tehachapi: Barboa 1-25, Muro 1-16.
Varsity -- Tehachapi (2-1 SSL, 4-4 overall), Arvin (2-1 SSL, 6-2 overall).
JV -- Tehachapi 19, Arvin 0. (Tehachapi, 3-0 SSL, 8-0 overall)
Frosh -- Tehachapi 28, Arvin 13. (Tehachapi, 2-1 SSL)