Highland Bakersfield at Tehachapi
August 26, 2022
Warrior running back AJ Anderson runs for big yardage Friday afternoon at Coy Burnett Field
as Tehachapi defeated Highland 42-7. Anderson scored 3 TD's and galloped for 222 rushing yards. The Warriors will now
host Taft Union (2-0) on Thursday night. Game time is 7:30 pm. (Photo by Vicky Shea, The Tehachapi News.)
Posted by The Tehachapi News Sports Staff on August 28, 2022. Football Shines Bright In Afternoon Victory Over Highland
The home opener for Mountain Football was close to being canceled last week.
Due to an electrical issue at Coy Burnett Stadium last Friday, the field lights were rendered non-operational
after numerous
attempts to troubleshoot and repair.
The initial decision by school administration was to call off the game. However, athletic directors from both
Highland and Tehachapi, along with THS football coaches and TUSD maintenance, scrambled to make the game a reality.
Both games were rescheduled to earlier times, the junior varsity from 5 p.m. to 3 p.m. and the varsity 7:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Unfortunately,
the Warriors were not able to play under the lights, but at least the show went on.
Tehachapi (2-0) made the most of their opportunity to play, thoroughly dominating the line of scrimmage against CIF Central Section
No. 25 ranked Highland (1-1) in an impressive 42-7 victory.
AJ Anderson had a monster game against the Scots, rushing for 222 yards and scoring on touchdown runs of 89, 18 and four yards
in the blowout. The 89-yard run by Anderson was the eighth-longest run from the line of scrimmage in school history,
according to thswarriors.com. Anderson had 241 all-purpose yards overall, also hauling
in a 19-yard reception from quarterback Jacob Root.
Other offensive standouts included Mike Jones rushing for 50 yards and scoring the games’ first touchdown on a one-yard run,
also adding a two-point conversion run. Karson Tiewater contributed with 45 yards rushing and short touchdown run in
helping the Warriors to staggering 346 rushing yards overall.
Root was 3-5 in the passing game for 40 yards and a touchdown, who along with Anderson connected with Christian Morse on two
completions
for 21 yards. One of Morse’s receptions resulted in a 13-yard touchdown.
Defensively, Wyatt Richie had a standout game for the second-straight week, collecting 13 tackles, two sacks and two quarterback hurries.
Nick Smith (10 tackles, seven hurries), Jones (eight tackles), Kaleb Songer (seven tackles, pass deflection),
Jacob Betancourt (seven tackles, fumble recovery, pass deflection), Morse (six tackles, five hurries),
Tanner Gary (five tackles, five hurries), Raul Navarro (four tackles, three hurries) and Adrian Pina (interception) also had standout games on defense.
On special teams, Betancourt had 57 yards overall in returns and Martin Rodriguez connected on four point-after-attempts.
The Warriors will hope that the necessary fixes to the stadium will happen early this week so that the next home contest scheduled
this Thursday against Taft can be played under the lights. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Should the game time change, please make sure to visit twitter @tehachapisports or the Tehachapi Warriors Booster Club page
on Facebook for the latest updates.
Football Honors former TUSD Administrator, Mr. D
Prior to kick-off, all in attendance took time to honor beloved former school administrator Richard Dieterle, known for years
as "Mr. D," in a tribute and pre-game coin flip with his family serving as honorary captains.
Mr. D, who passed away in May, was a founding member and one of the original incorporators for the Tehachapi
Warriors Booster Club in 1985 and an avid supporter of THS athletics. The Warrior football team will continue to honor his memory this season with "Mr. D" decals on their helmets.
Junior Varsity
Due to the last-minute logistics to make an afternoon game a reality, the scheduled junior varsity game against Highland was
deemed a non-contest/scrimmage due to unavailability of referees, who could not make the 3 p.m. start time.
Tehachapi (1-0) made the most of the scrimmage opportunity, with Cyler Hoofard leading the way on offense with four receptions,
including a diving 38-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Anthony Cerbantez. William Small also had a fumble recovery and Wade Brooks and Kenny Pitt
recorded quarterback sacks in the scrimmage over the Scots.
The Braves will look to have their official second game of the season at home this Thursday afternoon against Taft. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Highland 0 0 7 0 07 Tehachapi 14 14 7 7 42
Highland vs Tehachapi Statistics
HHS THS First Downs 14 Rushes-Yards 47-346 Passing Yards 40 Comp-Att-Int 3-5-0 Total Yards 386 Punts Penalties 7-50
Individual Statistics:
RUSHING — Tehachapi: AJ Anderson 19-222, Jones 14-50, Pina 5-13, Aguirre 4-16, Trewater 5-45.
Highland: .
PASSING — Highland: . Tehachapi: Root 3-5-40-0.
RECEIVING — Highland: . Tehachapi: Anderson 1-19, Morse 2-21.
Varsity Records: Tehachapi 2-0 Highland 1-1
