Fresno High Warriors at Tehachapi
November 17, 2017
Warrior running back Hayden Palmer celebrates in the end zone after scoring one of his two TD's Friday night against Fresno High.
Palmer rushed for a season high 164 yards as the Warriors grinded out a tough 20-14 win. Tehachapi will now travel to Tulare in Kings County
to play the #1 seeded Tulare Western Mustangs. Tulare has knocked the Warriors out of the playoffs the past two years.
Game time is 1:00 pm on Friday afternoon. (Photo by Vicky Shea.)
Posted by The Tehachapi News on November 18, 2017. Mountain Football Grinds Out Victory Over Fresno
The playoff atmosphere was on full display at Coy Burnett Field with a heavy dose of cold weather and smash mouth football.
Spearheaded by a power run game and stingy defense, Mountain Football reigned supreme with a 20-14 win over Fresno in the CIF Division III quarterfinals.
Leading all rushers for Tehachapi (7-5) was Hayden Palmer, who registered a season-high 164 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns, both on 10-yard carries. Overall, Tehachapi plowed their way to 334 yards on the ground.
“It was a hard-fought game. We just want to work as hard as we can out there. It gives us a lot of pride that we can represent our town (in the playoffs),” said Palmer.
Garrett Curry had a strong night with 125 yards on 18 carries, while Chris Garcia and Connor Timm combined for 45 yards rushing.
Garcia also recorded a touchdown on a one-yard quarterback keeper in the second quarter and completed a 23-yard pass to Luke Soto.
While there was success in ball movement, Fresno (6-6) kept the game close by stalling two Warrior drives with fumble recoveries and answering Tehachapi’s two scores with a pair of touchdowns of their own.
The first score for Fresno came on a 52-yard completion by Glen Phason from quarterback John L’heureux II in the second quarter. L’heureux II also scored on a 53-yard run in the third quarter to tie the score at 14-14.
“Overall we are happy with the win but the way we did it was probably not the best. We can learn from it. We had some breakdowns, a couple of big plays and overall some things we need to fix,” said Warrior linebacker Favian Garcia. “We will watch film, start grinding in practice and get ready for the next game.”
Garcia led the Tehachapi defense with 11 total tackles, helping to hold Fresno without a first down until the beginning of the third quarter.
Other defensive standouts included Dylan Hanzel (nine tackles and a sack), Patrick Grimes (eight tackles) and Sean Schulgen, Noah Howell, Peyton Stowers and Soto each with six tackles. Dominic Counihan and Mason Kiernan also recorded five tackles apiece.
“In the playoffs you are going to have to have games like this and we are proud of our guys for hanging in there and pulling out a win,” said head Coach Doug DeGeer.
Up next for Tehachapi is a CIF Division III semifinal playoff match-up with No.1 seed Tulare Western (10-1), which will be a Friday afternoon (1 p.m.) kickoff at Bob Mathias Stadium in Tulare.
The game will be the third consecutive season that the Warriors and Mustangs have clashed in the playoffs. Tulare Western won the last two meetings in low-scoring defensive battles, 15-8 (2015) and 9-7 (2016).
Through 11 contests this season, the Mustangs have averaged nearly 47 offensive points a game and will be in all likelihood heavy favorites to win.
“We are used to being the underdogs. Every week, we shut all that out of our mind and focus on nothing but the game,” added Favian Garcia. “We just want to come out and play Mountain Football.”
Big bruising Warrior running back Garrett Curry #42 flops on a Fresno High defender Friday night in Tehachapi. Curry had another good night
with 125 yards rushing and 1 TD. The Warriors defeated Fresno High, a school with over 3,000 students, by a final 20-14 margin. (Photo by Vicky Shea.)
Posted by John Sanders, The Bakersfield Californian on November 17, 2017. Palmer Runs For 2 TD's As Tehachapi Beats Fresno
TEHACHAPI – Even when you know what your opponent is going to do, sometimes it can still be hard to stop.
All season long the Tehachapi football team has been a bunch of blue collar workers.
And nothing changed Friday night in Central Section Division III playoffs.
Hayden Palmer rushed for 164 yards on 26 carries and scored two touchdowns and his complement Garrett Curry carried the ball 18 times for 125 yards to help lead Tehachapi to a 20-14 victory over Fresno, Friday night at Tehachapi High School.
“We played really hard up front,” Palmer said. “I thought we came out a little dull in the beginning, but we picked it up. We had a good week of practice and tonight was a well fought game.”
With the victory, Tehachapi will travel to Tulare on Friday to face Tulare Western, a 66-48 winner over Madera in the section semifinals.
Trailing 14-7 early in the fourth quarter, Fresno quarterback John L’heureux brought his team back after he ran for a 43-yard touchdown run after it seemed as if Tehachapi’s defense had stopped him for negative yardage. However, L’heureux was able to elude three tackles and tiptoe his way up the sideline for the score which tied the game 14-14.
Tehachapi (7-5) responded later in the quarter following Palmer’s second 10-yard touchdown run of the game putting it up 20-14. After Fresno had to punt, Tehachapi was able to keep the ball with a few first downs to seal the victory.
“I thought we played so well defensively as we have all season,” Palmer said. “The o-line did its job and that’s why I was able to get so many yards. We still need to work on everything. We want perfection and nothing less.”
Tehachapi struck first in the second quarter following an 8-play, 50-yard drive capped by Palmer’s first 10-yard touchdown run.
Fresno (6-6) tied the score later in the quarter after L’heureux, who finished with 208 yards of total offense by himself, scrambled on a third and long and was able to keep the play alive with his feet and eventually connected with Glen Phason who got behind the secondary and made a leaping catch for a 52-yard touchdown reception.
Tehachapi rallied with only 30 seconds remaining in the half, after quarterback Chris Garcia reached the ball over the goal line for a touchdown putting it up 14-7 at halftime.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Fresno High 0 7 0 7 14 Tehachapi 0 14 0 6 20
The Scoring:
Second Quarter:
THS - Palmer 10 yd. run (Medovitch PAT kick)
FHS - L'heureux to Phason 52 yd. pass (PAT kick)
THS - Garcia 2 yd. run (Medovitch PAT kick)
Fourth Quarter:
FHS - L'heureux 43 yd. run (PAT kick)
THS - Palmer 10 yd. run (Medovitch PAT kick failed)
Fresno High vs Tehachapi High Stats
FHS THS First Downs 11 Rushes-Yards 61-334 Passing Yards 23 Comp-Att-Int 1-2-0 Total Yards 357 Punts 3-26.3 Penalties 7-75
Individual Statistics:
RUSHING—Tehachapi: Palmer 26-164, Curry 18-125, Timm 14-29, Garcia 3-16.
Fresno: Not available.
PASSING—Tehachapi: Garcia 1-2-0 23; Fresno: Not available.
RECEIVING—Tehachapi: None. Fresno: Not available.
Varsity Records: Tehachapi 7-5. Fresno High 6-6.
