Tehachapi at Garces (Bakersfield)
Friday, August 24, 2007
Warrior running back Josh Strauss rambled for 99 yards against Garces as Tehachapi defeated
the Rams, 28-13, at Sam Tobias Field in Bakerfield. Photo by Craig Robbins, Summit Sports Photography
By Stephen Lynch, The Bakersfield Californian Tehachapi Hauls Trophy Back to the Mountains
Warriors Top Rams 28-13 in Season Opener
The new hardware is going to take a trip to the mountains. Long-time rivals Tehachapi and Garces didn't need additional motivation for their Friday night opening game matchup.
However, the game had something extra on the line anyways, the newly commisioned Coach Gary Ogilvie Trophy.
The Warriors, using a balanced offensive attack and hard-hitting defense, beat Garces 28-13 at Sam Tobias Field to claim the perpetual prize following the game.
"It's great pride," said Tehachapi coach Steve Denman when asked about winning the trophy. "Coach Ogilvie got me into coaching 27 years ago. He's like a second dad to me. He's got great ties with both schools, great tradition with both schools.
"To win the inaugural game is a honor for myself as a coach and for our school. He's a class act and one of the greatest coaches in Kern County."
Tehachapi took an early lead in the contest, driving 87 yards on 13 plays. Fullback Alek Taliulu capped off the Warriors' long opening drive with a 2-yard plunge.
Following an interception, by Garces quarterback Luc Cauzza, Tehachpi quickly went back to work on offense.
Late in the first quarter, a 39-yard run by Adam Mullen setup another second short Warriors touchdown run to make it 13-0.
Garces answered with a score of it's own with 4:05 left in the second quarter. Working with a short field after a long punt return by Michael Berry, the Rams' Vincent Phillips plowed into the end zone from 2 yards out.
Trailing by seven points late in the first half, Garces fumbled the ball away to Tehachapi deep in Ram territory, leading to a 20 yard touchdown pass by Ehren Ochsenrider to Franky Rodriguez on the final play of the half.
Garces added a touchdown in the third quarter on a 34-yard run by Cauzza to close the deficit to 21-13 but that wou;ld be as close as the Rams would get.
"We knew coming in that we had to replace a lot of guys," said Garces coach David Fanucchi. "At times out there we looked like an inexperienced football team. We made a lot kind of first game mistakes.
"For a lot of guys out there it was their first game and so that's something we can grow on. We know that's going to be ok. We had some flashes of some real good play and we just have to find that consistency. That will come."
"I think our kids came out and hit well," Denman said. "We a made a few mistakes like we would any time in an early season game but our kids played hard. We'll try to correct our mistakes and go from there."
The Tehachapi victory evens the all-time series at 16-16-2.
Webmaster Note: The Warriors will be at home against the LA Baptist Knights this week, renewing an old rivalry when the two schools played a home-and-away series in 1970 and 1971. LA Baptist, from North Hills, was a powerhouse in the 1970's --- with the 1971 team winning the CIF Southern Section 1A championship. The only loss suffered by the 1971 LA Baptist team was a stunning mid-season loss to Tehachapi on the mountain.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Tehachapi 13 8 0 7 28 Garces 0 7 6 0 13
The Scoring:
First Quarter:
Teh - Taliulu 2 run (Ochsenrider kick)
Teh - Mullen 3 run (kick failed)
Second Quarter:
Gar - Phillips 2 run (Finch kick)
Teh - Rodriguez 20 pass from Ochsenrider (Pimentel pass from Ochsenrider)
Third Quarter:
Gar - Cauzza 34 run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter:
Teh - Strauss 25 pass from Ochsenrider (Ochsenrider kick)
THS vs Garces STATS
THS GHS First Downs 13 11 Rushes-Yards 48-210 28-147 Passing Yards 97 46 Comp-Att-Int 6-10-0 4-16-1 Total Yards 307 193 Punts 0-0 3-37.0 Fumbles-Lost NA N/A Penalties 8-100 13-79
Individual Satistics:
RUSHING-Tehachapi, Strauss 12-99, Mullen 17-76, Lorenz 4-38; Garces,Cauzza 9-57, Berry 5-33, Thompson 6-31
PASSING-Tehachapi, Ochsenrider 6-10-0-97, Garces, Cauzza 4-16-1-46
RECEIVING-Tehachapi, Rodriguez 2-35, Mullen 2-30, Strauss 1-23; Garces, Antongiovanni 2-27
Non-League Records--Garces 0-1, Tehachapi 1-0
JV — Garces 28, Tehachapi 8
FROSH - Garces 20, Tehachapi 0
Week 0 SSL Scoreboard:
Taft 19 Foothill 7
Highland 24 Arvin 6