Tehachapi at Yosemite (Oakhurst)
Friday, November 22, 2002
Yosemite 22, Tehachapi 6: The Badgers Are No Longer Bridesmaids
Posted Saturday, November 23, 2002, by the Fresno Bee
Yosemite advanced to a championship for the first time, as senior Quint Brown rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown.
"We're kind of excited, but this is just a step in where we're trying to go," Yosemite co-defensive coordinator Erik Peterson said. "We still have next week."
The Badgers host Coalinga in next week's Sequoia Division large school championship.
Yosemite (11-1), which lost in the semifinals each of the past two seasons, pulled away in the fourth quarter after taking the lead on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Reagan to Daniel Talbot in the first quarter, and a 29-yard field goal by Casey Lucas in the third.
The Badgers' Becher Marr scored on a 14-yard run on the opening play of the fourth, and Brown added a 2-yard score with 20 seconds remaining.
Warrior ball carrier Tony Troffer led the THS offense against Yosemite, including a 44-yard run that helped set up
Tehachapi's only touchdown in the second quarter. Photo by Michael Duffy, Tehachapi News.
Posted Wednesday, November 27, 2002, by the Tehachapi News
As if some ominous clue to the Warriors fate, Friday in Oakhurst, the Yosemite Badgers ran back the opening kickoff to the Tehachapi High School 11 and scored what would become the winning touchdown and PAT just three plays later and less than two minutes into the game.
The Warriors kept the game close through the first half, trailing 6-7 at the start of the third quarter and 6-10 at the beginning of the fourth, but Yosemite scored twice in the final frame to defeat Tehachapi, 22-6.
The Badgers drew the ire of the Warrior contingent when they pressed for a meaningless touchdown from the two-yard line with just 17 seconds remaining in the game and then booted an onside ball to the THS 44-yard line on the ensuing kickoff.
In the game, the Warriors' quickly recovered from the Badgers' powerful opening and actually controlled the first half. Tehachapi rushed for 113 yards and held Yosemite to 22 yards on the ground.
The Warriors' only score of the game came in the second quarter on a five-play drive that began at the THS eight. Warrior running back Tony Troffer ran his best route of the game, picking up 44 yards to put the Warriors at midfield. Yosemite then aided the drive with a pass interference penalty to set up Tanner Hutchinson's 12-yard touchdown run at 6:17. John Sullivan's PAT kick was wide of the uprights. Troffer ended the game with 74 yards rushing on 11 carries. "We had the game," Hutchinson said. "We just couldn't hold on." Hutchinson finished with 51 yards on 14 carries.
After the break the Warriors were plagued with poor field position and went three and out on three successive series. Tehachapi was forced to pass nine times in the fourth with quarterback Greg Sanchez completing three of the passes for 41 yards, mixing his throws to Hutchinson, Willie Greenan and Phillip Altieri.
"We can't go three and out three times and expect to win," Sanchez said after the game. "They were ranked number one for a reason," Sanchez added of the Yosemite defense that pressured Sanchez several times as he searched downfield for a receiver.
Earlier, in the second quarter, the THS defense kept the game in reach when Yosemite drove to the THS seven but were forced to settle for a field goal when Jedd Ingraham made a crucial tackle on a third and two play deep in the Warrior red zone.
The Warrior defense came up big on several plays in the game, including an interception in the fourth by Altieri at the 44 and Josh Christy's blocked PAT on the Badgers' last TD. AJ Barcelona and Ingraham led the THS defense with 11 tackles each. Michael Wright and Christy turned in sterling defensive performances each logging six tackles.
The Warriors end their season with a 7-4 record and say farewell to 25 seniors.
