MOUNTAIN AVALANCHE Tehachapi hangs after first; but Garces too tough down the stretch

ROUGH START - #11 Levi Lantz is shown above faking the ball to runningback #20 Louis James while #18 JJ Balkar provides protection. Lantz had the lone touchdown on the night for the Warriors, scoring from five yards out late in the fourth quarter in the 33-7 loss to Garces.

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Posted 08-29-06

TEHACHAPI NEWS - When the Warriors took the field in their white away jerseys last Friday night, for many it seemed like a possible bad omen for the upcoming game. Whether it was superstition or Garces, Mountain Football could not find an answer to the Ram running attack in a 33-7 loss.

“Garces executed well in this game and we made more mistakes then they did, plain and simple,” said Warrior Head Coach Steve Denman. “In practice (this week) we need to work on what we did wrong and focus on getting ready for the next game. We have a lot of work to do and we need to get after it and improve.”

Senior Gabe Bressler led Tehachapi’s wing-t offense with 90 yards on 17 carries, while Louis James had a superb receiving night for the Warriors, catching four passes for 88 yards. Ehren Ochsenrider went 3-11 in the contest for 78 yards, while Levi Lantz chipped in with a 2-5 passing night for 19 yards, and 26 yards rushing with a five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Warriors were deep in Garces territory and threatening to score, but an errant pass found the hands of a Ram linebacker, who raced 101 yards down the sideline before being chased down from behind from Louie Olofson and Josh Strauss.

“That was a bright spot after they got us on an interception on us deep in their territory,” added Denman.

HIGHLIGHT MAKER - It was a night that the Warriors will soon forget, but #5 Stefan Bekker was still able to make a few nice plays on the night, logging in an interception and a punt block along with six recorded tackles.

Tehachapi’s Levi Lantz started the game for the Warriors at quarterback, but was spelled by Ehren Ochsenrider to start the second quarter.

“Both (quarterbacks) balance each other out with running and throwing, and in practice they were pretty even,” added Denman. “Our decision coming into the game was that Levi (Lantz) was going to start the first quarter and Ehren (Ochsenrider) was going to start the second quarter and whoever did the best was going to be our quarterback in the second half.”

On defense, Alek Taliulu had a big night at linebacker, logging in 10 tackles to lead Tehachapi, while Stefan Bekker had six take downs and Robert Gibson four stops. Jake Harris had two sacks and Adam Greenwood one sack. Bekker also had a couple of highlight plays on defense, recording a punt block and a circus-highlight interception catch in first half action.

Hit and Fly!

MOUNTAIN MEDIA VIDEO
Game-By-Game Video Highlights

	Well, chalk up another THS athlete going on to play collegiate ball! Tyler McCann will join former East-Bakersfield standout LeAndre Matthews at Missouri State University this season after two successful stints playing at Bakersfield College. Missouri State is a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association member, playing in NCAA Division II. McCann joins Division I athletes Tommy O'Brien (Northern Illinois), Jon O'Brien (New Mexico), John Sullivan (New Mexico), and Chris Denman (Fresno State) representing Warrior football in post-junior college football.
	If you get a chance check out (or even contribute) to the thswarriors.com open forum! There's a great recent story by Sal Murguia, a former All-SSL defensive back that was the '92 team MVP and honoree for the thswarriors.com All-90's first team squad.
	Be sure to tune in next weekend for analysis on Burroughs! For a brief history of each of the games that the Warriors and Burros have played each other, click here. You can also view 2004 Weekly Warrior analysis and 2005 game stats of the last meeting between these two teams.
	Be sure to tune in frequently to get the latest new, highlights, and commentary! Be sure to check out the Central Valley Sports chat room forum at some point this year...and don't forget to follow statistical highlights on all Warrior sports on maxpreps. On maxpreps, a link to each Tehachapi sport can be found by scrolling on the left-hand side of the page. Thanks to all of you for logging in and supporting Tehachapi High School Warrior athletics! Keep loging on to this page throughout the season for highlights and commentary!

Questions? Concerns? Corrections? Send Tom Shea an email, he'd like to hear from you.