Sunnyside at Tehachapi
November 25, 2011
Marcus Curiel (21) went air born to record one of his three touchdowns on the night in a 35-28 playoff win over Fresno-Sunnyside.
Curiel would lead Tehachapi rushers with 147 yards on 26 carries. Photo by Michael Duffy, The Tehachapi News.
Posted by Tom Shea, The Tehachapi News on Nov. 26, 2011 Passing Attack Fuels Comeback
Warriors nip Sunnyside in Playoff Opener, 35-28
While winning on the mountain might be tough for any team, especially in the playoffs, Sunnyside was upset minded in their playoff opener against the host Warriors last Friday night.
Despite the Fresno visitors surging to an early 14-0 lead, Tehachapi opened up their passing attack to record a 35-28 comeback win in a rematch of last year's CIF Division II quarterfinals.
Defensively, Sunnyside was selling out for the run, forcing an early adjustment from Tehachapi to find their offense through the air.
The first score came when Bobby Howell found a wide open Wyatt Vance for a 68 yard scoring strike, the first of three unanswered touchdowns for the Warriors. Adam Bullard also found Cory Lange on a 47 yard touchdown pass and catch to help Tehachapi go up 21-14 in the second quarter.
"We knew that they were eventually going to shut down the run and we would have to go to the air," said Vance. "Their safeties shot up (to the line of scrimmage) and I was wide open."
The Warriors recorded a season-high 183 passing yards by game's end from Howell and Adam Bullard, with Cory Lange registering 97 yards on three receptions and Vance 86 yards on two catches.
The running lanes would open up in the second half, with Marcus Curiel churning out most of his 147 yards rushing for Tehachapi. Curiel would put the game away on a masterful 44 yard run, breaking free from four tackles for what would end up being the game winning score with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter.
Curiel also joined Cody Hall with a recorded two-point pass receptions from Howell in the game. Howell finished 4-6 passing for 136 yards.
"Sunnyside is a tough team. We knew they were athletic and that they would fly to the ball," said Curiel. "We just wanted to execute and do what we had to do to win."
Tehachapi's defense would rise to the challenge in the final quarter, forcing a punt and a turnover on downs with just over three minutes left in the game.
"We needed to stop the run to get them off the field," said Sunnyside head coach Justin Garza. "Coach Denman and his kids did a great job popping big plays when they needed it."
By defeating Sunnyside, Tehachapi notched their fifth-straight season with recording 10 or more victories, while also improving to 14-1 in the playoffs since 2007.
"They do everything right here," Garza said. "They are very disciplined and when it came down to the wire they made one or two more extra plays than we did."
Up next for Tehachapi is a CIF Division II semifinal rematch with Garces, who recorded a 55-35 over Redwood last week. The game against the Rams will be in Bakersfield this Friday night. Game will start at 7 p.m.
CIF Division II Playoffs - Semifinal Round
no.4 Tehachapi (10-1) at no.1 Garces Memorial (10-1)
no.3 Clovis North (7-3) at no.2 San Joaquin Memorial (8-3)
CIF Division II Playoffs - Quarterfinal Round
Garces 55, Redwood 35
San Joaquin Memorial 21, Frontier 17
Clovis North 49, Lemoore 7
Tehachapi 35, Sunnyside 28
Tehachapi's defense was opportunistic on the night, with Jack Blewett #61 leading the charge from his linebacker position
to neutralize Sunnyside's quarterback #1 Andy Phimmavong. Photo by Michael Duffy, The Tehachapi News.
Posted by Tom Shea, The Bakersfield Californian, on Nov. 25, 2011 Warriors Rally Past Sunnyside, 35-28
TEHACHAPI -- Tehachapi rallied from a two-touchdown deficit Friday after its passing attack heated up, and the Warriors rolled to a 35-28 victory over Fresno-Sunnyside in a rematch of last year's Central Section Division II quarterfinals.
Defensively, Sunnyside was selling out for the run, forcing an early adjustment from Tehachapi to find its offense through the air.
The first score came when Bobby Howell found a wide open Wyatt Vance for a 68 yard scoring strike, the first of three straight touchdowns for the Warriors.
"Unfortunately we thought we did a better job preparing for the pass but their guys were wide open and that's not very characteristic of our team," Sunnyside coach Justin Garza said. "We haven't given up 35 (points) all year. If you told me coming into tonight that we would give that many points it would be tough to believe."
The Warriors recorded a season-high 183 passing yards by Howell and Adam Bullard, with Cory Lange registering 97 yards on three catches and Vance 86 yards on two catches.
"Our kids played well when they had to. We dug ourselves in a hole," said Warrior head coach Steve Denman. "Defensively, we had some good stands and stopped them. Offensively, when we had to hang on to the ball and put it in the endzone, we did. That was the difference in the game."
The running lanes opened up in the second half, with Marcus Curiel churning out most of his 147 yards rushing for Tehachapi. Curiel would put the game away on a 44 yard run for what proved to b the game winning score with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter.
Tehachapi forcing a punt and a turnover on downs in the final minutes.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Sunnyside 14 7 7 0 28 Tehachapi 0 21 14 0 35
The Scoring:
First Quarter:
Sun - Wingfield 59 yard run (Enciso kick)
Sun - Beckering 7 yard run (Enciso kick)
Second Quarter:
Teh - Vance 68 yard pass from Howell (Scaggs kick)
Teh - Curiel 1 yard run (kick failed)
Teh - Lange 47 yard pass from Howell (Hall pass from Howell)
Sun - Wingfield 54 yard run (Enciso kick)
Third Quarter:
Teh - Curiel 1 yard run (kick failed)
Sun - Johnson 55 yard pass from Phimmavong (Enciso kick)
Teh - Curiel 44 yard run (Curiel pass from Howell)
SHS vs THS STATS
SHS THS First Downs 12 12 Rushes-Yards 38-231 40-187 Passing Yards 95 183 Comp-Att-Int 5-7-0 5-7-0 Total Yards 326 370 Punts 3-46.6 4-32.0 Fumbles-Lost 2-1 4-1 Penalties 10-80 5-30
Individual Statistics:
RUSHING - Sunnyside: Wingfield 21-194, Johnson 3-25, Beckering 4-19, Phimmavong 6-15, TEAM 4-(-22);
Tehachapi: Curiel 26-147, Vance 12-37, Curry 2-3.
PASSING - Sunnyside: Phimmavong 4-6-0-88, Johnson 1-1-0-7; Tehachapi: Howell 4-6-0-136, Bullard 1-1-0-47.
RECEIVING - Sunnyside: Johnson 4-88, TEAM 1-7; Tehachapi: Lange 3-97, Vance 2-86.
Varsity – Tehachapi (SSL 5-0; 10-1 overall), Sunnyside (6-5 overall)
