D-HACHAPI Mountain Defense shuts down prolific Taft offense

Posted 10-13-07

TEHACHAPI NEWS - If defense wins championships, then the Warriors showed their championship caliber in a big way last Friday night in a 17-3 victory over Taft.

The Wildcats came into the game as one of the most dominant offensive teams in the central valley, an undefeated 6-0 record, and a no. 1 ranking in Division IV.

In retrospect, Tehachapi was also considered a top team in Division III, sporting a 5-1 record and a no. 1 ranking in Division III.

It was considered a clash of two titans. When the game was over, Taft’s perfect record was gone and their offense was left in shambles in an amassed 83 yards rushing and 60 yards passing against the punishing mountain defense.

“This win was huge, Taft it always is a big game, it’s been a big game every year,” said Alek Taliulu. “We were pumped up the whole time, we just wanted to play and we just wanted to hit.”

Tehachapi’s offense had some trouble getting going early, with their first three possessions resulting in two punts and a fumble recovery. 

The fumble was deep in Tehachapi territory and helped Taft set up shop at the Warrior 28-yard line. The drive ended up stalling, but Taft drilled a 42-yard field goal to go up, 3-0.

Tehachapi took the lead in the beginning of the second quarter when Adam Mullen performed an Emmitt Smith-esque type move, squeaking through a cluster of Wildcat defenders, reversing his field, and following a convoy of Warriors to the endzone for an 18-yard TD run. 

“They were crashing down hard and I just saw the opportunity to come back and luckily I had some blockers to help me turn the field,” said Mullen. “This win means a lot for us, we stepped up. We treated this game as another block in our road that we had to get over to get to our ultimate goal.”

Right before halftime, Tehachapi converted on a 24-yard field goal by Ehren Ochsenrider with one second remaining. Ochsenrider had a pivotal game in the kicking department, also converting on two PAT attempts.

The game was put on ice the game with a one-yard touchdown by Ochsenrider on a quarterback option at the start of the fourth quarter. The touchdown was set up by a five-yard run by Josh Strauss on a first and goal at the six.

“When I rolled out Alek (Taliulu) was the only one that was open in the flat but the throw wasn’t there so I just turned up field and took it in,” said Ochsenrider. “That moment I scored it was great, it was a big touchdown for us.”

For the game, Tehachapi finished with 286 yards of total offense. Strauss led the Warriors with 19 carries for 70 yards, Adam Mullen eight carries for 67 yards, Franky Rodriguez five carries for 52 yards, and Kelly Lorenz nine carries for 47 yards. Ochsenrider finished with three completions for 31 yards, hitting Garrett Coontz, Rodriguez, and Mullen on passes at various stages of the contest.

On defense, Alek Taliulu was a force at linebacker with nine total tackles, followed in suit by Coontz with eight stops. Byron Herman and Jonathan Perrien also had fumble recoveries for Tehachapi.

“Every game is a championship game,” said head coach Steve Denman. “In the league, especially this season, there are a lot of talented teams. Our next opponent Arvin doesn’t care what their opponent’s record is coming in and they have really put it to us year in and year out. We need to come back this week and re-focus on another big game.”

Tehachapi’s game against Arvin will be on the road, with the kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m.

Hit and Fly!

MOUNTAIN MEDIA VIDEO Game-By-Game Video Highlights

FOOTBALL ROUNDUP:  Indians Maul the Wildcats The Tehachapi freshmen continued to roll in league with a second straight 30-point output, while the junior varisty lost a close contest against Shafter. Both programs will be on the road this week against Arvin at 5 p.m. start times. The Indians will play on Thursday while the Braves will play on Friday. Freshmen:  Tehachapi 30, Taft 12 Big plays on defense and an explosive running offense were key for the freshmen attack in a 30-12 victory over Taft last Thursday afternoon. Thanks in part to untimely penalties, the Indians took their first drive to the endzone a total of three times, eventually coming away with a Phil Rhodes three yard touchdown run. Trevon Harris had a 28 yard run called back, while Harris a two yard scamper, but both phantom scores did little to faze the Indians in a drive that culminated a total of 95 yards rushing. After a Harris two-point PAT, Tehachapi was up in the first quarter, 8-0. Taft (5-3; 1-1 SSL) answered with two straight touchdowns in the second quarter to go up 12-8, but from there it was all Tehachapi. With less than a minute remaining before halftime, the Indians turned the game momentum in their favor for good when Colt Murrow intercepted a Wildcat pass at the Tehachapi 36-yard line. Murrow, a defensive tackle for Tehachapi, rumbled all the way into Taft territory before he was chased down by the opposition. Before Murrow went down however, the alert lineman lateraled the football to a trailing Travis Farewell, who took the pigskin to the endzone for a touchdown. Trevon Harris again connected on the two-point PAT to give Tehachapi a four point lead at half, 16-12. The Indians struck again in the third quarter when Brandon Brown recovered a fumble deep in Wildcat territory and ran in an eight-yard touchdown run. Harris connected on his third-straight two-point attempt to put Tehachapi up 24-12. The final nail in the coffin came on the Indians’ next drive that was set up by a Brandon Brown fumble recovery on a kickoff return. Tehachapi quarterback Levi Garrett found a wide-open Travis Farewell in the flat for a 22-yard touchdown reception to mark the eventual final count of 30-12. For the game, Trevon Harris paced the Indians with 140 yards on 20 carries, while Michael Lowder had seven carries for 46 yards. On defense, Phil Rhodes and Gabe Goodwin had six tackles, Tanner Etherton and Cameron King had five tackles each, while Ricky Johnston had a couple of touchdown-saving tackles in the fourth quarter. As a team, Tehachapi (2-0 SSL) rushed for 222 yards. Junior Varsity:  Taft 14, Tehachapi 6 It was a game of opportunistic plays and in the end Taft made just a few more than Tehachapi in a 14-6 loss for the Braves on the mountain. Quarterback Ryan Dalmas led Tehachapi (4-4; 1-1 SSL) with a four completion night for 67 yards, including a stellar 14 yard catch to Matt Santos to account for the Tehachapi touchdown. Santos’s endzone grab came on a fourth and seven play in the second quarter to help the junior varsity tie the game with Taft, 6-6. Other offensive highlights included Zach Maravigli catching a 27 yard pass. Maravigli had an all-around great game, continuing his hot streak from the big win at Clovis East two weeks prior where he helped seal the victory with a fourth quarter interception. On defense, Eric Erickson led Tehachapi with nine tackles, while Luke Papac, Niko Taliulu, John Cramer, Austin Herman, and Jesse Olofson each recorded five tackles. Papac also had a fumble recovery while Olofson recorded an interception.

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