Centennial (Bakersfield) at Tehachapi
September 11, 2015
Warriors Thomas Blewett (5) and Gabe Dodge (56) wrestle down Centennial runner Brandon Robinson in first half action at Coy Burnett Field
in Tehachapi Friday night. Centennial defeated the Warriors 25-7 in a non-league game. Photo by John Harte, TBC Media Group.
Posted on September 11, 2015 by Jeff Evans, The Bakersfield Californian Centennial QB DeLeon Has Big
Night AS Hawks Beat Tehachapi
TEHACHAPI — Centennial’s balanced offense was too much for Tehachapi to overcome Friday night.
The Golden Hawks (2-1) cruised to a 25-7 non-league win at Coy Burnett Field behind 235 passing yards from quarterback Cesar DeLeon and 158 rushing yards by a host of runners.
Tehachapi (2-1) did not complete a pass and was held to 100 net rushing yards by the big and physical Centennial defense.
Tehachapi’s only touchdown was a 90-yard kickoff return by Keyron Scott to open the second half.
But other than that, it was an all Golden Hawk night.
“I was really impressed with our passing game tonight,” said Centennial’s first-year coach Chad Brown. “You get a win against a Tehachapi team up here on the mountain is a good win for any team.”
Centennial quarterback Cesar DeLeon completed 14-of-22 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns.
He barely missed another TD pass when he flipped a pass to Brandon Robinson, who ran 51 yards for a score. But the pass was a lateral, so it went as a rushing TD for Robinson.
DeLeon’s TD passes covered 12 yards to Cole Beaty and 17 yards to Danny Roach.
Beaty added a 53-yard punt return for Centennial’s final touchdown.
“A lot of people think we’re just a running team with all our quality running backs,” DeLeon said. “People don’t know if we can throw with me coming over from linebacker. Tonight we got some things clicking.”
The lateral to Robinson gave the Golden Hawks a 6-0 lead with 4:50 left in the first quarter.
Tehachapi was held inside its 20 on the Warriors’ ensuing possession, and a 4-yard punt gave Centennial a first down on the Tehachapi 14. The Golden Hawks quickly scored, on Beaty’s TD reception.
“In the first quarter we had bad field position,” said Tehachapi coach Steve Denman. “The offense was the same as last week (a 7-0 win over Ridgecrest-Burroughs) — we sputtered.
“Our defense hung in there. … Our defense played great. Our offensive struggled.
“At times when we put our hat on the right guy with the right intensity, we make things happen. When we don’t, things fall apart. We just need to have things go in the right direction.”
Tehachapi trailed 12-0 at halftime and stayed close thanks to a goal line stand. Centennial failed to score on two runs from inside the 1-yard line, with Tehachapi taking over on downs with 1:58 left in the half.
But the Warriors were unable to muster any consistency on offense in the second half. Tehachapi had only 55 yards of offense and one first down in the second half.
Scott finished with 70 yards on 14 carries for the Warriors, with 41 of those yards on a second-quarter run. He had a 60-yard TD run called back on a holding penalty in the fourth quarter.
Robinson had 82 yards on 14 carries. Beaty and Roach caught five passes each, for 97 and 85 yards, respectively.
The game time temperature was 85 degrees and it was in the mid-70s by the end of the game compared to the Bakersfield-area games that all started late because of the heat and poor air quality.
Warrior defenders swarm in to tackle Centennial running back Cale Jarnagan in first half action Friday night in Tehachapi. Warrior players in on the action
include Colten Eaton (24), Jackson Caudle (55), and Carson Bethany (11). The Hawks defeated the Warriors 25-7. Photo by John Harte, TBC Media Group.
Posted on September 13, 2015 by John Nelson, The Tehachapi News Warriors Offense Sputters
In 25-7 Loss To Centennial
It’s not like there was any quit in the Warriors.
A second-quarter goal line stand proved that. Keyron Scott’s 90-yard TD run with the second-half kickoff proved it. Tehachapi’s dogged stubbornness on defense proved it.
“I’m proud of our kids,” head coach Steve Denman said.
Despite the positives, the Warriors (2-1) were beaten for the first time this season on Friday night, Sept. 11 as their offense sputtered in a 25-7 loss to a big, fast Centennial team.
Tehachapi’s only touchdown came on Scott’s 90-yard kickoff return opening the second half. He fielded the ball on the 10, near the left sideline, scooted up the left hash marks, burst through a pack of would-be tacklers and out-ran everybody to the end zone.
“The blocking was great, and the results were there,” Scott said. “My blockers made a perfect lane for me.” On offense, however, Scott was held to just 70 yards rushing, and, without a pass completion, the Warriors total offense for the night was a mere 100 yards.
Troy Noda had four carries for 22 yards. Warriors quarterback Lars Olofson was 0-for-7 passing. Scott had an apparent 60-yard touchdown run called back on offsetting penalties midway through the fourth quarter. The Warriors were whistled for holding, and Centennial was assessed a personal foul.
“We sputtered on offense,” Denman said. “We’ve got to be more consistent. The positive that comes out of this is that when we put our hat on the right guy, we can make things happen.”
After the Warriors’ 7-0 victory over Burroughs a week earlier, it was apparent the offense needed fixing. “I thought we had it fixed this week,” Denman said, “but we didn’t.”
Tehachapi suffered from field position woes through much of the first half. The Warriors forced Centennial to turn the ball over on downs on the Golden Hawks’ first possession, but it came at a cost. Tehachapi started on its own 9, and when the Warriors were unable to move the ball, they had to punt from their 17. Centennial got the ball at midfield and scored on its first play from scrimmage on a 51-yard run by Brandon Robinson for a 6-0 lead.
On its next possession, Tehachapi found itself giving up the ball deep in its own territory again, the victim of penalties that penned the Warriors back on their own 9. After a short punt, Centennial took over on the Warriors’ 14 and scored three plays later on a 12-yard pass from Cesar DeLeon to Brandon Boyd.That gave the Golden Hawks a 12-0 lead with 1:58 left in the first quarter.
The teams paused briefly in the first quarter, with 9:11 on the clock, to join the Kern High School District football teams in remembering the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2011.
The two teams played a scoreless second quarter, thanks in large measure to a goal line stand late in the half that forced Centennial to turn the ball over on downs on the Tehachapi 1-yard line with 1:56 to play. Four plays from inside the 7-yard line netted Centennial just six yards.“Our defense hung in there,” Denman said.
When Scott ran back the second-half kickoff, the goal line stand loomed large. The 90-yard scamper cut the deficit to 12-7, and anything was possible.
Two minutes after Scott’s bold run, the Golden Hawks came back with a seven play drive that covered 56 yards for a touchdown that made it 17-9. Centennial’s final TD came just 2:35 into the fourth quarter, giving the Golden Hawks a 25-7 lead.
The Warriors offense could make only one first down after that. “They’re a good team,” Denman said, “and they are balanced on offense. You can’t leave your defense on the field for that long against a team like Centennial, and that’s what we did.”
Now, the Warriors face a stretch of three straight road games, beginning with Arvin on Friday night, Sept. 18. “They’re tough, especially at their place,” Denman said. “They’re always very physical. It’ll be a battle. Defensively, they really come at you.”
Notes On A Scorecard ... Junior running back Keyron Scott says he and his Warriors teammates don’t quite have it together yet. “We really didn’t unite,” he said after the Warriors’ 25-7 loss to Centennial on Friday night, Sept. 11. “We need a lot more work. ”Although he ran back a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, Scott was held to 70 yards of rushing offense in the game. “As individuals, I know we’re trying our hardest,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve tried our hardest as a team yet though.” ••• Tehachapi made only four first downs in the game against Centennial, only one in the second half, as the Warriors defense spent the lion’s share of the game on the field. While Centennial ran off 38 plays from the line of scrimmage in the second half, Tehachapi had just 19 plays after the break. The Golden Hawks accounted for 17 of their second-half plays in one long drive that ended in a punt and consumed almost 6½ minutes of the third quarter. ••• The Warriors gained more yards on special teams against Centennial than they did on offense. In fact, Scott’s 90-yard kickoff return nearly equalled the 100 total yards that the Warriors managed to generate on offense. Add a 36-yard kickoff return by Jake Walters and a 7-yarder by Taydin Macon, and it adds up to 144 return yards, 44 yards more than the offense. The Warriors offense has managed just one touchdown in each of its last two games. ••• Swedish exchange student Oscar Lins continued to be perfect on his point-after attempts for the Warriors. So far this season, he is 8-for-8 on extra points. He was 7-for-7 in Tehachapi’s opener against Foothill and 1-for-1 in each of the Warriors’ past two games.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Centennial 12 0 7 6 25 Tehachapi 0 0 7 0 07
The Scoring:
1st Quarter:
C—Robinson 51 run (kick blocked)
C—Beaty 12 pass from DeLeon (pass failed)
3rd Quarter:
T—Scott 90 kickoff return (Lins kick)
C—Roach 17 pass from DeLeon (Benjamin kick)
4th Quarter:
C—Beaty 53 punt return (run failed)
Centennial vs Tehachapi Stats
CHS THS First Downs 13 4 Rushes-Yards 35-158 26-100 Passing Yards 246 0 Comp-Att-Int 15-23-0 0-7-0 Total Yards 404 100 Punts 1-21.0 4-26.5 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0 Penalties 11-114 3-30
Individual Statistics:
RUSHING—Tehachapi: Scott 14-70, Noda 4-22, Whitlach 5-15, Olofson 3-(-7) .
Centennial: Robinson 14-82, Jarnagan 9-29, DeLeon 7-25, Crawford 3-14, Jimmenez 1-9, Nelson 1-(-1).
PASSING—Tehachapi: Olofson 0-7-0-0. Centennial: DeLeon 14-22-0-235, Felix 1-1-0-11.
RECEIVING—Tehachapi: None. Centennial: Beaty 5-97, Roach 5-85, Elizee 2-25, Robinson 1-18, Nelson 1-12, Lantay 1-11.
Varsity – Tehachapi (2-1), Centennial (2-1)
Junior Varsity - Tehachapi 15 Centennial 28
Frosh-Soph Game - Tehachapi 8 Centennial 7
