Warriors at Delano Tigers
November 26, 2004
Lucas Provides Spark For Delano
As It Rolls Past Tehachapi, 28-7
DELANO -- Ahearn Lucas led Delano High in practically every offensive and defensive category, but the numbers can't compare to how he sparked the Tigers Friday night to their first playoff victory in 30 years.
Lucas scored on a 58-yard pass, 37-yard interception return and 58-yard run in a span of less than four minutes in the second quarter, helping No. 4 Delano to a 28-7 win over No. 5 Tehachapi in the Central Section Division III quarterfinals.
"We just made history and I'm happy to be a part of this Delano team because most of us start on offense and defense," said Lucas, referring to eight players going both ways. "I just came out and tried to do whatever I could to lift this team."
Lucas did almost everything -- running for 134 yards on 16 carries, catching two balls for 74 yards and intercepting two passes -- to put Delano (8-3) into the semifinals next week at No. 1 Oakhurst-Yosemite (9-2).
The rustiness of having a first-round bye hit the Tigers for the first 15 minutes, 37 seconds. But the offense picked up with some trickery going Lucas' way on first down on Delano's 42-yard line.
With Tehachapi (7-5) coming on an inside blitz, quarterback Randy Camat threw a wide backward pass to wide receiver Scott Perigo. By the time Perigo caught the ball, Lucas powered up field to give Perigo a chance for a 58-yard touchdown completion.
A wide-open Lucas caught the ball in stride and put Delano ahead 7-0 with 8:13 left in the second quarter.
The score gave the Tigers the momentum after missing a 25-yard field goal on the previous possession.
Tehachapi, which threw only three times in last week's opening round win over No. 12 Fresno-Roosevelt, was forced to throw 16 times. But the fifth pass cost the Warriors when quarterback Tyler Hansen forced a ball at the his own 37, allowing Lucas to pick it off.
Lucas wasn't done on the play, though, as he ran toward the left sideline before cutting back inside the 10 to find the end zone and give Delano a 14-0 lead with 7:11 remaining.
"He's been our go-to-guy all year, making play after play for us," said Delano coach Dave McDaniel of Lucas, who has scored 16 touchdowns (eight rushing, seven receiving and one defensive). "This is the first week we've had some of our key guys back at full strength. "We sputtered on offense, but maybe it was the trick playing that got us going."
When Lucas wasn't making a big play for Delano, it was the defense, starting with defensive tackle Noe Enriquez.
Enriquez returned from missing the last 2 1/2 games with a right knee injury by recording two sacks and helping hold Tehachapi's 1,000-yard back in Sean Finley to 48 yards on 24 carries.
The second sack stopped any hope for Tehachapi to make it a game and somehow try to advance to the next round and keep its chances of winning a second straight championship alive.
Enriquez crushed those hopes with 7:25 remaining and Delano up 28-7 by dropping Hansen inside the Tigers' 35 and forcing him to fumble.
Delano recovered, causing the Tigers faithful to erupt and celebrate its first playoff win since 1974.
"Our fans have been wanting (to celebrate a playoff win) for awhile, and it feels good," Enriquez said. "Ahearn made it possible because what he did against Tehachapi was simply amazing."
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Tehachapi | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 07 |
| Delano | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
Scoring Summary
2nd Quarter
D -- Lucas 58 pass from Perigo (Villalobos kick)
D -- Lucas 37 INT return (Villalobos kick)
D -- Lucas 58 run (Villalobos kick)
3rd Quarter
T -- Gracian 20 run (Wulf kick)
4th Quarter
D -- Chavez 1 run (Villalobos kick)
| THS | DHS | |
| First Downs | 00 | 00 |
| Rushes-Yards | 47-138 | 28-126 |
| Passing Yards | 125 | 70 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 7-16-2 | 3-6-0 |
| Total Yards | 263 | 196 |
| Punts | 0-00.0 | 0-00.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties | 0-00 | 0-00 |
Individual Statistics:
Rushing--Tehachapi: Gracian 6-57, Finley 24-48, Haycock 9-47, Hansen 8-(-14).
Delano: Lucas 16-134, Chavez 4-(-1), Camat 7-(-3), Velasquez 1-(-4).
Passing--Tehachapi: Hansen 7-16-2-125. Delano: Chavez 3-6-0-70, , Perigo 1-1-0-58, Camat 2-5-0-15.
Receiving--Tehachapi: Papac 3-59, Gracian 2-54, Muro 1-8, Haycock 1-4. Delano: Lucas 2-72, Perigo 2-17, Camat 1-39, Aguirre 1-15.
Records--Delano 8-3 overall; Tehachapi 7-5 overall.