Indians lose season opener to Ramblers

The Indians had a disastrous first half to open up their season against Garces by going down 20-0, but rebounded in fine fashion in the second stanza to record a scoreless third and fourth quarter shutout.

“Right now it’s just a feeling out process,” said head coach Bruce Schkade. “We had good drives that stalled, we just have to learn as a team and put together a good series on offense.”

Trevon Harris had 54 yards on 11 carries to pace the Indian offense, while Tyler Holstram had eight carries for 31 yards.

“Our guys are going to earn the decals on their helmets and they know that,” added Schkade. “It’s about competing and improving and getting better, that’s what will earn them their stripes, so to speak.”

On defense, Phil Rhodes had eight total tackles, while Travis Farewell, Cameron King and Michael Lowder had five tackles each. Dustin Brown finished with four tackles.

“Each game in the pre-season is to improve and compete and get better,” Schkade said. “It’s about getting ready for the SSL and that’s our goal right now.”

Despite their first game loss, Coach Schkade was encouraged that the majority of the team had a chance to experience the history of the program in the Ogilvie Trophy inception.

“Tradition is important and it’s something that our freshman get a chance to see first hand,” said Schkade. “Having the Ogilvie trophy presented and the kids seeing that, it’s a real positive thing to see and it lets them know how big the Garces-Tehachapi rivalry is and how big football is in this town in general.

For now, the Indians will take their games one at a time and continue to improve.

“Varsity players (Louie) Olofson and (Franky) Rodriguez came by practice last Friday and had a talk with our guys,” Schkade said. “They told the kids what it means to be a Warrior and what it means to be a team, to be a part of this program. Our guys will come around.”