Highland Scots at Tehachapi
Friday, November 16, 2007
Warrior Shawn Pimentel hauls in a pass in 1st quarter action against Highland.
Moments later the Warriors scored their second touchdown of the game on a
(faked field goal) Ochsenrider to Pimentel pass with three seconds remaining in
the opening frame. Photo by Mike Duffy, Summit Photography
Posted by Tom Shea, The Bakersfield Californian on November 17, 2007 Warriors Advance In Playoffs
Scots Season Ends on the Mountain
TEHACHAPI - Led by an impressive all-around game by Anthony Johnson, the Scots played with an inspired effort that nearly had them pulling off the upset over the No. 1 seed in the Division III playoffs.
But in the end, the Warriors defense stiffened to record a 21-14 victory on the Mountain.
A two-score lead to open the game proved to be the difference for Tehachapi (10-1), with Adam Mullen registering a 42 yard fumble return on the first score and a five yard touchdown catch by Shawn Pimentel from Ehren Ochsenrider on a fake field goal just before the end of the first quarter.
"We knew it was going to be a slugfest," said Warrior head coach Steve Denman. "Anyone that has seen Highland, especially the last few weeks, knows that they are tough on both sides of the ball."
Highland's Anthony Johnson carried the ball 16 times for 94 yards, including a 5-yard TD run in the second quarter to keep the contest close.
"They were coming hard, I was expecting a tough game," said Tehachapi running back Kelly Lorenz. "Our defense played great, but (Anthony Johnson) was tough to contain."
Adam Mullen scored his second touchdown of the evening in the third quarter on a three yard run to put the Warriors up 21-6, but fumbles on Tehachapi's next three offensive drives gave Highland a short field to work with deep in Warrior territory.
"The mistakes hurt us. We need to clean up our act on the offensive side of the ball when it comes to turnovers, its uncharacteristic of us to do that," added Denman. "We gave them a short field on a couple of drives and fortunately the defense kept us in the game."
Highland (5-7) took advantage of one of the turnovers by punching in a one yard run by Kyle Atchley, but Tehachapi's defense stiffened down the stretch, forcing a turnover on downs and recording a pair of interceptions by Garrett Coontz and Jeff Waldram.
Lorenz led the Warriors ground game with 99 yards on 20 attempts.
"Anytime you put points on the board and you make mistakes you can't close," Denman said. "It was a hard fought game and we were fortunate to come out with a win."
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Highland 0 6 0 8 14 Tehachapi 14 0 7 0 21
The Scoring:
1st Quarter:
Teh - Mullen 42 yard fumble return (kick failed)
Teh - Shawn Pimentel 5 yard pass from Ochsenrider (Mullen run)
2nd Quarter:
High - Johnson 5 yard run (kick blocked)
3rd Quarter:
Teh - Mullen 3 yard run (Ochsenrider kick)
4th Quarter:
High - Atchley 1 yard run (Johnson run)
Highland vs Tehachapi Statistics
HHS THS First Downs 7 12 Rushes-Yards 20-102 46-195 Passing Yards 27 20 Comp-Att-Int 8-15-2 6-10-0 Total Yards 129 215 Punts N/A N/A Fumbles-Lost 2-1 4-3 Penalties 1-5 7-65
Individual Statistics:
RUSHING - Tehachapi, Lorenz 20-99, Strauss 11-41, Mullen 14-57, Ochsenrider 1-(-2); Highland, Johnson 16-94, Atchley 4-8.
PASSING - Tehachapi, Ochsenrider 6-10-0-20, Highland, Johnson 8-15-2-27.
RECEIVING - Tehachapi, Pimentel 2-10, Coontz 1-16, Lorenz 1-0, Strauss 2-(-6); Highland, O'Leary 3-23, Roy 1-7, Mercado 1-5.