New head coach Doug DeGeer   Photo by The Tehachapi News.

In Head Coaching Debut
Tehachapi Coach Acknowledges 'Elephant in the Room'

Posted August 31, 2017 by Trevor Horn, The Bakersfield Californian

If taking over a football program from a Hall of Fame coach isn’t pressure enough, how about adding on Doug DeGeer’s plate that his first game as Tehachapi's football coach is the only home game for any Bakersfield-area team?

That’s exactly the case as Tehachapi hosts Burroughs at 7:30 p.m. The Kern High School District, Taft, McFarland and Chavez canceled football games because of extreme heat, leaving Tehachapi with a big mountain spotlight.

“It just adds to the craziness that it already is,” DeGeer said. “But it will be exciting. Sure, it adds some pressure and (we'll) make sure we go over everything so we can come out and perform.

“Our guys are just chomping at the bit, and I am excited to see how they execute. It’s going to be fun. I am looking forward to it, and I know they are, too.”

DeGeer has had months to absorb the pressure of taking over for Steve Denman, who won 301 games in 35 years as Warriors head coach before stepping down this spring. In fact, Denman took over the program in 1982, the same year DeGeer, a former player for Denman, was born.

“It’s pretty wild. It’s there. It’s the elephant in the room,” DeGeer said. “You just have to put it behind you and get the guys prepared. I have tried to go through all those feelings and be ready for Burroughs.”