Tehachapi at Golden Valley (Bakersfield)
November 28, 2008
Upper left, Warrior Quarterback Kurtis Knudson hands off to #22 Adam Mullen, and upper right, Austin Herman leads a swarm of Tehachapi
defenders in the Bulldog backfield to stymie a run-draw in second half action. The Warriors will travel to Yosemite High in Oakhurst
this Friday in a CIF central section semi-final playoff game. Photo by Mark Nessia, The Tehachapi News
Posted December 1, 2008 by Tom Shea, The Tehachapi News Tehachapi Routs Golden Valley, 48-24
Warriors Reach Section Semi-Finals
With Drubbing Over the Bulldogs
In one of their most impressive displays of balance this season, Mountain Football took to both the ground and the air to upend #3 seeded Golden Valley last Friday night in Bakersfield, 48-24.
After two stalled drives to start the game, momentum shifted the Warriors direction in a big way when Austin Herman intercepted a pass deep in Golden Valley territory, opening the flood gates that eventually led to seven touchdowns on Tehachapi’s next eight drives.
Golden Valley (6-5) could not find an answer for shifty back Adam Mullen, who finished with four touchdowns, 169 yards on 20 carries and a 67 yard catch-and-score from Kurtis Knudson. Josh Strauss also had a stellar night on the ground, taking 18 attempts for 132 yards and Tehachapi’s first score. Garrett Coontz provided the third touchdown for the Warriors, with Knudson connecting to the open wide-out in the flat for a 63-yard touchdown just before the half.
The Tehachapi wing-t offensive line helped account for 489 yards overall, helping Knudson fire for 156 yards on three completions and two scores, and 333 yards rushing.
The Warrior defense terrorized Golden Valley into three interceptions by Austin Herman, Adam Mullen and Garrett Coontz, while also recovering two fumbles.
In special teams, kicking standout Jake Reimer went six-for-six on extra point tries. Reimer is second in the section on kickoff yardage, 11th in the section on kick-scoring, and fifth in the central section in extra points so far on the season.
Up next for Tehachapi (8-4) is a date with the Division III playoff no.2 seed Oakhurst-Yosemite (8-3), who upended Dinuba 31-24 last week. The last time the Warriors faced off with the Badgers was the 2003 CIF championship, which Tehachapi won, 14-10.
Tehachapi running back Josh Strauss looks for running room in the first half Friday night at Golden Valley.
The Warriors offense exploded for 48 points in upsetting #3 seed Golden Valley. Tehachapi will travel to
Yosemite-Oakhurst this Friday night. Photo by Dennis Mahan, The Bakersfield Californian
Posted November 29, 2008 by Kevin Gilmore, The Bakersfield Californian Warriors Upset Golden Valley, 48-24
Travel To Yosemite Next
BAKERSFIELD - For all of its importance, momentum can be the most fickle of elements in a football game.
That proved to be the case Friday night as momentum teased host Golden Valley before camping permanently on the Tehachapi sideline as the Warriors rolled to a 48-24 upset at Bulldog Stadium.
Tehachapi (8-4) advances to play Yosemite, a 31-24 winner over Dinuba Friday. Golden Valley finished 6-5.
"We've played them up there (Oakhurst) many times, so it's not a strange place for us to play," said Tehachapi Head Coach Steven.
But thoughts of Yosemite were pushed aside to focus on the solid Tehachapi effort Friday.
"We scored in the red zone," said Denman. "They turned the ball over down there and we didn't and that was the difference in the game."
Indeed, Tehachapi's defense came up with big plays when the Warriors needed them most. That began on Golden Valley's opening drive.
After forcing a Tehachapi three-and-out to start the game, the Bulldogs marched 56 yards in 15 plays to set up a first-and-goal on the Warrior 5-yard line. But Golden Valley failed to gain another yard in three plays and settled for a Jose Medina 20-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.
The Warrior defense picked up its intensity, forcing five turnovers while helping Tehachapi build a 27-3 lead that proved secure in the hands of its dominant running game.
The Warriors' Adam Mullen rushed for 169 yards and three TDs on 20 carries; catching a 67-yard TD pass and returning an interception 82 yards that almost resulted in another Warrior score late in the first half.
"The runs are always more exhilarating, but we knew they were going to be up in the box so we thought we could throw on them," said Mullen.
Mullen was far from the only Warrior hero. Backfield mate Josh Strauss chipped in 132 yards on 18 carries. Both benefited from strong offensive line play that often found them five or more yards into the secondary before a defender touched them.
"Our offensive line played well, but then they've been doing that all season long," said Denman.
"It was the line that gave our backs the opportunity to make plays," added Mullen.
In fact, Tehachapi's line had its backs running downhill so frequently that the Warriors did not have one negative yardage play from scrimmage the entire game.
Tehachapi rushed for 335 yards on 47 carries, but stole the momentum from the Bulldogs with a surprising aerial assault that produced a pair of 60-plus yard TD passes.
Senior quarterback Kurtis Knudson threw just five passes in the game, but his final two were scoring strikes of 67 and 64 yards that helped the Warriors open a 20-3 halftime lead. The Warriors stayed with the ground attack in the second half.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Tehachapi 7 13 14 14 48 Golden Valley 3 0 14 7 24
The Scoring:
First Quarter:
G -- Medina 21 yard field goal 4:04
T -- Strauss 7 yard run (Reimer kick) 0:34
Second Quarter:
T -- Mullen 67 yard pass from Knudson (Reimer kick) 7:09
T -- Coontz 63 yard pass from Knudson (pass failed) 2:02
Third Quarter:
T -- Mullen 18 yard run (Reimer kick) 7:36
G -- Perez 10 yard catch from Finch (Medina kick) 5:37
T -- Mullen 48 yard run (Reimer kick) 3:40
G -- Newman 6 yard run (Medina kick) 1:56
Fourth Quarter:
T -- Mullen 2 yard run (Reimer kick) 10:31
T -- Lange 1 yard run (Reimer kick) 6:35
G -- Newman 47 yard run (Medina kick) 0:15
THS vs GV STATS
THS GV First Downs 18 22 Rushes-Yards 47-335 36-237 Passing Yards 156 189 Comp-Att-Int 3-5-1 18-29-3 Total Yards 489 428 Punts Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-2 Penalties 4-35 9-73
Individual Statistics:
RUSHING--Tehachapi: Mullen 20-169, Strauss 18-132, Olofson 1-20, Weeks 2-6, Knudson 1-6, Lowder 2-0;
Golden Valley: Newman 31-226, Ennis 1-8, Finch 1-3, Vargas 2-10, Johnson 1-(-10)
PASSING--Tehachapi: Knudson 3-5-1 156; Golden Valley: Finch 18-29-3 189
RECEIVING--Tehachapi: Mullen 1-67, Coontz 1-63, Olofson 1-26; Golden Valley: Perez 4-69, Lyday 5-62, Johnson 3-31, Ennis 5-27, Newman 1-0.
Varsity – Tehachapi (8-4), Golden Valley (6-5)
